Against Economics: Rethinking Political Economy (Routledge Revivals)

Published in 1997, this postmodern critique provides a discourse on internal dynamics of the economics world view, suggesting for future societal wellbeing that we simply do not criticize economics but dispense it altogether. It argues that in the modern era economics have become obsolete as we live in a society riddled with corruption. Contents 5 Acknowledgements 7 Introduction: Against Economics 11 Part I: Economics and Epistemology: Marxism, Realism and Beyond 19 1 Critical Realism: The Nouvelle Critique 21 2 Against Eurocentrism: Prolegomena to Liberation 41 Part II: ‘Development’ Studies: Retrospect and Prospect 61 3 Theory and Policy in ‘Development’ Studies: An Overview of the Mythology of ‘Progress’ 63 Part III: Arguments in Political Economy: Old and New 83 4 Economic Theory and Arms Expenditures: A Resume of Issues 85 5 Sraffa, and All That: A Retrospective on Some Foibles of the Cambridge School 113 6 Why England Led the Way : Clues to a Critique of Eurocentrism 120 Part IV: Classical Economics: Myth and Reality 131 7 The Ricardian Rigmarole: From Policy to Paradigm 133 8 The Parson and the Plutocrat: Toward Restitution 153 Part V: Revolutions in Economic Theory: The Parameters of Paradigm Shift 171 9 The Eclipse of Ricardian Ideas: A Primer on Paradigm Shift in Economics 173 Part VI: Otiose Controversies in Marxism: Against Orthodoxy 201 10 The Falling Rate of Profit: Clarifying a Conjecture 203 11 The ‘A siatic’ Mode of Production: Eclipse of a Notion 210 12 The ‘Transition’ to Socialism: In Dubious Debate 221 13 Beyond Marx: Contra Theses on Feuerbach 236 Part VII: New Horizons: Against Patriarchy 239 14 Feminist Horizons: Toward Cultural Revolution 241 Postface: Rethinking Political Economy 249 Bibliography 256 Published in 1997, this book takes on the sacred cows of economics, both mainstream and radical, pointing out the many elisions inherent in economic analysis, from class blinkers to gender and culture blinkers, to methodological failings, philosophical errors and political and paradigmatic biases.