Pluralism: an alternative to the methodological individualism of neoclassical economics
| Type of publication: | Article |
| Citation: | Piana V., Pluralism: an alternative to the methodological individualism of neoclassical economics, EWI Essay Series, 2020. |
| Journal: | Economics Web Institute |
| Year: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://www.economicswebinstitu... |
| Abstract: | Pluralism is an a-priori point of view that inform the way we search, understand and look after human beings and their activities, including economic actions and phenomena. It is a body of statements about how many subjects operates on how many objects, with how many goals and means as well as how many origins, ways to materialize, and effects they have. These statements cannot be demonstrated but their application to any situation results, usually, in helpful advice. As we define it, pluralism is at odds to reductionism as well as to monism, dualism, skepticism, and many other approaches. It is different from eclecticism, which is an unsystematic and opportunistic alternation in the practical utilization of mutually incompatible research traditions. Pluralism is the foundation of a methodology to approach economic agents, their bundle of choice, the way they choose, the way they interact with each other, etc. It represent the starting point for a policy-oriented analysis of economic activities. The paper is organized as follows: we provide a core of the definition of pluralism, we distribute it in seven key components, promote a two - step procedure to implement it. We intertwine the general discussion with examples from economics and other sciences. We contrast pluralism with the methodological individualism of the neoclassical economics. In a constructive way, we provide hinsights on how to formally model under a pluralistic approach. Finally, we introduce the two different roles in the application of pluralism. In the Appendix we discuss how our own definition of pluralism compares with others, both historical and contemporary ones. |
| Keywords: | |
| Authors | |
| Added by: | [] |
| Total mark: | 0 |
|
Attachments
|
|
|
Notes
|
|
|
|
|
|
Topics
|
|
|
|
|