The Delusions of Economics : The Misguided Certainties of a Hazardous Science

In The Delusions of Economics, Gilbert Rist presents a radical critique of neoclassical economics from a social and historical perspective. Rather than enter into existing debates between different orthodoxies, Rist instead explores the circumstances that prevailed when economics was ‘invented’, and the resultant biases that helped forge the construction of economics as a ‘science’. In doing so, Rist demonstrates how these various presuppositions are either obsolete or just plain wrong, and that traditional economics is largely based on irrational convictions that are difficult to debunk due to their ‘religious’ nature. As a result, we are prevented from properly understanding the world around us and dealing with the financial, environmental, and climatic crises that lie ahead. Provocative and original, this essential book provides incontrovertible proof that the construction of a new economic paradigm - pluralistic, ecologically compatible, grounded in reality - has now become a necessity. About the Author; Introduction; 1 Economics between History and Anthropology; The trap of autonomous disciplines; Changing the optic; From reductionism to complexity; 2 A Failed Scientific Ambition; The triumph of mechanics; Thermodynamics and the irreversibility of time; The impotence of economic 'reason'; 3 Homo Oeconomicus: A Dangerous Phantom; The unlocatable individual; How to construct society?; The tautologies of methodological individualism; 4 Exchange; The right words for it; Prescription or proscription; Giving, receiving and giving back; Market exchange or inverted logic The Delusions of Economics presents a radical critique of neoclassical economics. Rather than entering into existing debates between different orthodoxies, Gilbert Rist explores the circumstances that prevailed when economics was 'invented' and that helped to construct it as a science. Rist demonstrates how these presuppositions are either obsolete or just plain wrong, and that traditional economics is largely based on irrational convictions. In this work, Gilbert Rist presents a radical critique of neoclassical economics from a social and historical perspective. Rather than enter into existing debates between different orthodoxies, Rist instead explores the cricumstances that prevailed when economics was 'invented' Gilbert Rist ; Translated By Patrick Camiller. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 194-203) And Index.