Ideology and Pluralism in Economics: a German View

Abstract: As a social science, economics studies social interactions. What distinguishes it from other social science disciplines is, firstly, its focus on interactions involving the management of scarce resources and, secondly, its conception of itself as generating traceable, verifiable findings that are free of normative judgements but instead yield ‘objective knowledge’. Some regard this methodological foundation of positivist fallibilism as the feature that makes economics the ‘queen of the social sciences’. Others are critical of these core assumptions, which they believe have no place in a social science. Interestingly, both critiques and defences of economics often make reference to ideology: defenders claim that economics is as free of ideological bias as it is possible to be, while critics deny economics’ status as a science and instead regard it as an ‘ideology that serves to uphold power relations’. This article explores the relationship between ideology and economics with specia

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource, 16 S.
• Language: Englisch
• Notes: Veröffentlichungsversion ; begutachtet

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: ZÖSS Discussion Paper ; Bd. 75

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (where): Mannheim, Hamburg
• (who): SSOAR - Social Science Open Access Repository, Universität Hamburg, Fak. Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften, FB Sozialökonomie, Zentrum für Ökonomische und Soziologische Studien (ZÖSS)
• (when): 2019
• Creator: Heise, Arne
• Contributor: Universität Hamburg, Fak. Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften, FB Sozialökonomie, Zentrum für Ökonomische und Soziologische Studien (ZÖSS)

Further information

• URN: urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-66517-7
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 25.03.2025, 1:47 PM CET