Abstract
This chapter examines the principles that radical institutionalists consider to be the foundation for effective thinking on economic policy. Most prominent in this regard is instrumental value theory and the contradictory relation of invidiousness to instrumental effectiveness. Another prominent theme is the generally favorable response of radical institutionalists to the twentieth-century tendency toward increasing collective and state action to control the economic process. An interwoven theme is the necessity of fully understanding the implications of this collective movement so that the control in question can be made more democratic and more instrumentally effective.
The economic system … is … a curious stream of tendencies.
W. Hamilton, 1918.
Social and historical inquiry is in fact a part of the social process itself, not something outside of it. The consequences of not perceiving this fact was that the conclusions of the social sciences were not made … integral members of a program of social action.
J. Dewey, 1935.
There are not merely analogies to be drawn between democracy and science … The instrumentalist aim. is … a merging of the social reformer with the social scientist.
R. Tilman, 1987.
Reprinted from the Journal of Economic Issues (1984) by special permission of the copyright holder, the Association for Evolutionary Economics.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 1995 James Ronald Stanfield
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Stanfield, J.R. (1995). Social Reform and Economic Policy. In: Economics, Power and Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-23712-8_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-23712-8_8
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-23714-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-23712-8
eBook Packages: Palgrave Economics & Finance CollectionEconomics and Finance (R0)