Revisiting Epistemological Underpinnings

Gerardo Rivera Ungson and Sixto K. Roxas

Chapter 8 in From Alleviation to Empowerment:Ruminations on Poverty, Capitalism, and Communities, 2026, pp 175-197 from World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.

Abstract: If current mindsets are lacking, why are they embraced and sustained so wholeheartedly in academic and populist circles? In earlier chapters, we advanced explanations rooted in history, legitimization, politics, and institutionalization. Another perspective for analyzing the influence of the free-market system is epistemological or our deep-seated assumptions about how we arrive at knowledge we fundamentally believe. While the formal study of epistemology resides in the field of philosophy, its influences are manifest in both the physical and social sciences. In the Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Thomas Kuhn (1922–1996) argued that the first instinct of tradition is to reject any idea that rests on different assumptions from becoming a part of orthodoxy. Copernicus’ (1473–1543) heliocentric view of the universe, Galileo’s (1564–1642) teachings about faith and reason, and the initial conceptions of quantum physics were fiercely challenged because they were not in accord with existing beliefs and intellectual traditions. But much as paradigm development can be confining and restrictive in our beliefs, understanding these challenges also provides the basis for an emancipated alternative…

Keywords: Poverty; Poverty Alleviation; Poverty Eradication; Inter-generational Poverty; Environmental Degradation; Sustainable Development; Community Empowerment; Social Accounting; Human Settlements; Development Economics; Unsustainable Development; Ecological Sustainability; Capitalism; Free Market; Economic Orthodoxy; Classical Economics: Marx; Radical Economics; Bretton Woods; Sectoral Development; Sectoral Specializations; Neo-liberalism; Enterprise Management; Modern Corporation; Modern Enterprises; Microfinance; Entrepreneurship; Social Enterprises; Capacity Building; Conditional Cash Transfer; Mainstream Growth Theory; Biogenesis; Mechanistic Worldview; Jurgen Habermas; Spectrum of Consciousness; Communitarian Movement; Moral Capitalism; Humane Economy; Enterprise Logic; Communitarian Logic; Ekistics; Enterprise Accounting; Community-based Accounting System; Social Accounting; Valuation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I32 O15 O18 Q01 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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