 A sociological case for pluralism in economicsHendrik Van Den Berg International Journal of Pluralism and Economics Education, 2011, vol. 2, issue 4, 345-354 Abstract: The ideas and concepts of Pierre Bourdieu provide insight into why the culture of economics led to the failure of economists to foresee financial instability and the Great Recession. The culture of the field of economics consists of a subjective habitus that includes smooth neoclassical functions and unrealistic rational expectations models, justified by doxa that reflects the neo-liberal belief in the moral superiority of free markets and individuals' 'freedom to choose'. This paper argues that for economists to avoid missing the next economic crisis, they must break out of the confines of the neoclassical culture. To escape the symbolic violence and gain their freedom, economists must embrace intellectual pluralism. Keywords: Pierre Bourdieu; financial instability; subjective habitus; Great Recession; symbolic violence; economic crises; sociological analysis; sociology; economic cultures; doxa; economists; common beliefs; popular opinion; neoclassical functions; unrealistic models; rational expectations; neo-liberal beliefs; neo-liberalism; moral superiority; free markets; individual freedom; freedom to choose; neoclassicism; individual choice; neoclassical cultures; intellectual pluralism; economics education. (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ids:ijplur:v:2:y:2011:i:4:p:345-354 Access Statistics for this article More articles in International Journal of Pluralism and Economics Education from Inderscience Enterprises Ltd |
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