Reflections on the Economics Profession, the Neoliberal Conjuncture, and the Emerging Democratic Crisis: An Analysis in the Spirit of Albert O. Hirschman

Ilene Grabel

Forum for Social Economics, 2018, vol. 47, issue 2, 173-183

Abstract: How might Albert O. Hirschman have us theorize the culpability of the economics profession in the profound anti-democratic impulses that have taken root in so many parts of the world? In my reading, Hirschman would want to hold the profession accountable for having produced the unfolding democratic crisis. He was a profound critic of the pursuit of institutional and policy coherence, such as embodied in the utopian neoliberal project, and the associated pursuit of theoretical purity. Hirschman tied grand, systemic thinking to the hubris of the economics profession. He emphasized in particular, the need for humility, patience, and recognition of the epistemic limitations of the profession and the ineluctable complexity of social systems.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1080/07360932.2018.1451761

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