Radical Institutionalism - Contributions in Economics and Economic History by William M Dugger Hardcover

About the Book

This collection of original essays makes a unique contribution to both the radical and institutionalist economics literature by explicitly identifying and promoting the radical dimension of institutional economics. According to the authors (Young Turks in the institutionalist school), radical institutionalism studies show how resources and wants are created through social processes and advance the struggle for a better world through an ongoing dialogue about economic rights. This collection contains a number of new and important contributions from young institutionalists, including the first serious treatment of the origins and contributions of the Texas School of institutionalism. It also contains thorough discussions of the research agenda for institutional economics and an extensive dialogue between institutionalism and Marxism.

The book opens with an explanation of the central concepts of radical institutionalism, a history of the seminal Texas School of Economics, and a discussion of the methodology of radical institutionalism. Other contributors critique institutionalism as a radical system of inquiry, extend institutionalism beyond its original American foundation, discuss the contemporary critical literature, and outline the usefulness of a continued dialogue between radical institutionalism and Marxism. This provocative collection will interest scholars of contemporary economic theory. It could also be used as a supplementary reader in courses on the history of economic thought and political economy.

Book Synopsis

This collection of original essays makes a unique contribution to both the radical and institutionalist economics literature by explicitly identifying and promoting the radical dimension of institutional economics. According to the authors (Young Turks in the institutionalist school), radical institutionalism studies show how resources and wants are created through social processes and advance the struggle for a better world through an ongoing dialogue about economic rights. This collection contains a number of new and important contributions from young institutionalists, including the first serious treatment of the origins and contributions of the Texas School of institutionalism. It also contains thorough discussions of the research agenda for institutional economics and an extensive dialogue between institutionalism and Marxism.

The book opens with an explanation of the central concepts of radical institutionalism, a history of the seminal Texas School of Economics, and a discussion of the methodology of radical institutionalism. Other contributors critique institutionalism as a radical system of inquiry, extend institutionalism beyond its original American foundation, discuss the contemporary critical literature, and outline the usefulness of a continued dialogue between radical institutionalism and Marxism. This provocative collection will interest scholars of contemporary economic theory. It could also be used as a supplementary reader in courses on the history of economic thought and political economy.

Review Quotes

.,."Dugger attempts to organize a theoretical and practical agenda for radical institutionalism is a significant contribution to the discipline. Its value will be even more appreciated once the solid, social-science foundations have been supplied for his grand design. Dugger himself is, as always outrageous, rich in historical and ethical insights, and forever the joyful combatant for economic justice."-History of Political Economy

?. . . William Dugger, author of three of the eight papers in the small volume under review, is now pressing a case for "radical" institutionalism . . . Namely, the economy is analysed as a continually evolving process, rather than as tending towards some equilibrium; opressive behavioral patterns are recognized and rejected as social myths; power and status plus myths are seen as tyranny. . .?-Journal of Social Economics

?...Dugger attempts to organize a theoretical and practical agenda for radical institutionalism is a significant contribution to the discipline. Its value will be even more appreciated once the solid, social-science foundations have been supplied for his grand design. Dugger himself is, as always outrageous, rich in historical and ethical insights, and forever the joyful combatant for economic justice.?-History of Political Economy

." . . William Dugger, author of three of the eight papers in the small volume under review, is now pressing a case for "radical" institutionalism . . . Namely, the economy is analysed as a continually evolving process, rather than as tending towards some equilibrium; opressive behavioral patterns are recognized and rejected as social myths; power and status plus myths are seen as tyranny. . ."-Journal of Social Economics

..."Dugger attempts to organize a theoretical and practical agenda for radical institutionalism is a significant contribution to the discipline. Its value will be even more appreciated once the solid, social-science foundations have been supplied for his grand design. Dugger himself is, as always outrageous, rich in historical and ethical insights, and forever the joyful combatant for economic justice."-History of Political Economy

About the Author

WILLIAM M. DUGGER is Professor of Economics at DePaul University, Chicago. He is the author of An Alternative to Economic Retrenchment and numerous articles and reviews on institutionalism and corporate capitalism. He has served as the President of the Association for Institutional Thought and President of the Association for Social Economics.