Teaching economics as political economy1

Marie Daou and Alain Marciano

Chapter 16 in Handbook of Teaching Philosophy to Economists, 2025, pp 197-209 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: In the twentieth century, especially post-World War II, economics transformed significantly, increasingly mimicking the “hard” sciences like physics and chemistry. This shift involved a greater reliance on mathematical tools and axiomatic methods, overshadowing the discipline's philosophical and political economy roots. As a result, economics education evolved. This trend raises concerns about the content and methods of teaching economics. Many problems have been identified, and various solutions proposed. What we suggest here is not only to change the teaching of economics by using more philosophical notions but also the type of economics that is taught. This chapter proposes viewing economics as a social philosophy, rooted in the discipline's classical origins with thinkers like David Hume and Adam Smith. This perspective encourages a multidimensional approach, integrating social, historical, and ethical considerations. By returning to these philosophical roots, economics education can foster critical examination of theories and their societal implications, enhancing the discipline's relevance and comprehensibility.

Keywords: Political economy; Philosophy; Ontology; Culture; Market process; Institutions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035336814
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.elgaronline.com/doi/10.4337/9781035336821.00022 (application/pdf)
Our link check indicates that this URL is bad, the error code is: 403 Forbidden

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:elg:eechap:23463_16

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.e-elgar.com

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Chapters from Edward Elgar Publishing
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Jack Sweeney ().