Provincializing europe: towards a post-colonial reconstruction: a critique of baconian science as the last stand of imperialism

This article treats Europe's claim to universality as its problematic, and contends that any serious attempt to reorganize the past and/or the future must subvert the European appropriation of the universal. Noting that the justification for Europe's ‘confiscation’ of the universal is often grounded in the argument that only Europe has succeeded in inventing an epistemological tool (namely, Baconian science) that successfully opens the doors to Truth, the article seeks to further its project of provincializing Europe by demonstrating the inadequacy of Euro-science as humanity's chosen vehicle to Truth. This the article does by developing the thesis that violence is encoded in the very fabric of modern science. Following a broadly Gandhian perspective, therefore, the article rejects science's epistemological pretensions. Such rejection of Euro-science, the article points out, leads also to a denial of Europe's presumed universality. Finally, the paper offers some preliminary thoughts on a post-science reorganization of knowledge-creative practices.     

Social capital and the reproduction of economic inequality in polarized societies

This paper explores the idea that the distribution of wealth across social groups fundamentally affects the evolution of economic inequality. By providing microfoundations suitable for this exploration, this paper hopes to enhance our understanding of when social forces contribute to the reproduction of economic inequality. In tackling this issue, this paper offers contributions in two domains. First, it models social capital as a real capital asset with direct use and collateral values. Second, it extends the concepts of identity, alienation and polarization originally advanced by Esteban and Ray (Esteban, J.M. and Ray, D.: On the measurement of polarization, Econometrica 62(4) (1994), 819–851). This generalization permits us to consider the multiple characteristics that shape social identity, inclusion and exclusion. It also underwrites a higher-order measure of socio-economic polarization that permits us to explore the hypothesis that economic inequality is most pernicious and persistent when it is socially embedded. Holding constant the initial levels of economic polarization and wealth inequality, we show that higher socio-economic polarization increases subsequent income and wealth inequality. Far from being a distributionally neutral panacea for missing markets, social capital in this model may itself generate exclusion and deepen existing economic cleavages.     

The evolutionary neuroscience of human reciprocal sociality: A basic outline for economists

MacLean's tri-level concept of the human brain is the foundational concept for a comprehensive understanding of human sociality from the standpoint of physiology and medicine. This conceptual platform is basic to any proper contextualization of evolutionary psychiatry, as MacLean essentially describes two opposing archetypal neuromental circuitries upon which our sociality is based. It is important that the social sciences, notably economics, achieve more comprehensive, reliable and valid progress. Integration of evolutionary behavioral neuroscience is especially pertinent as deficiencies of the received model – a hyper-rational, self-interested homo economicus – are increasingly evident.In particular, the MacLeanian model is re-emerging as the principal basis for an evolutionary psychology with meaningful attention to both genes and brains. This evolutionary psychology is, in turn, the most naturalistic and accurate formulation for reciprocity and exchange behavior of social species, notably humans. As such, evolutionary neuroscience is of direct and increasing pertinence to economics generally and especially socioeconomics. This paper is meant to cogently summarize key elements to foster greater cross-inquiries between evolutionary neuroscience and economics.     

The relationship between physical disability and narcissism: A critique of the literature

This article critically examines some of the major psychoanalytic writings on the relationship between physical disability and narcissism. Tracing the evolution of thought about narcissism from Freud's original formulation to a self-psychological approach, it considers and contrasts pain, illness, and adult disability on the one hand and early onset disability on the other. The conclusion reached is that disability and narcissism are related in complex ways, depending on a variety of physical, developmental, and environmental factors. Thus, clinicians must avoid making a priori assumptions in work with disabled patients, for such assumptions may be countertransferential.     

The coming revolution of biotechnology: A critique of Buttel

Frederick Buttel was one of the pioneers in studying the social impacts of biotechnology, claiming originally that it will involve profound changes in social structure. Recently Buttel turned around his argument proposing that, rather than revolutionary, biotechnology is more a substitutionist technological form to be applied to declining sectors of the economy than an epoch-making technology. This paper provides both external and internal critiques of Buttel's new position based on the concept of the third technological revolution, looking at the impact of new technologies as a global and interrelated phenomenon, and not on an individual case-by-case basis. The concluding section suggests the necessity of bringing into the analysis those living in the Third World: 60% of this population lives from agriculture and will be affected by the deployment of agricultural biotechnologies, whether through substitutionism or through totally new products.     

Economic sociology as disequilibrium economics: a contribution to the critique of the new economic sociology

This paper analyses the problem of the asocial view of the market at the theoretical core of contemporary economic sociology. Despite much emphasis on the apparent interpenetration of society and the economy, contemporary economic sociology is rooted in an analytical distinction between the two spheres. The implicit reliance on the neoclassical economic conception of the market helps to explain why the ‘new economic sociology’ often collapses into disequilibrium economics, where disequilibrium becomes the central but unstated prediction of a good deal of the work in the paradigm. Using a sample of contributions from the field, I demonstrate that a strong tendency running through much of the new economic sociology tends to understand society as a fundamentally distortionary force. To resolve this problem, I argue that an independent field of economic sociology necessitates a distinction between social relationships and social relations.     

The Indian urban land ceiling act: A critique of the 1976 legislation

The Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act was enacted in India in 1976 with a view to curbing land price increases and promoting low-income housing through socialisation of urban land. This paper critically examines the stated objectives of the Act and the major achievements after its implementation, and finds that the Act has so far not lived up to its expectations. The paper begins with an introductory background for the evolution of the Act and highlights its major provisions. A careful examination of the limitations in the implementation of this Act and its major implications as per experience is then presented. The paper concludes with the necessity for a thorough reappraisal of major policy instruments, search for alternative strategies and consideration of the realities of the existing situation in the country for possible improvement.     

A visibility analysis of the scientific production of Ukrainian economists: 1969-94

Despite the prestigious contributions of Ukrainian economists in the past, most particularly with Mikhaı̈l Tuhan-Baranovsky and even more so with Eugen Slutsky, there is no single indication of the scientific production of contemporary economists either in Ukraine or in the Diaspora. This study attempts to fill that gap by using the 1969-3/1995 EconLit data-base to establish the visibility of all identified economists with Ukrainian descent active in academic, governmental or private areas. The members of the Editorial Board and the Advisory Board of the Ukrainian Economic Review were also examined in order to provide reference to a benchmark group. The method of analysis applied the usual norms of measurement, taking into account the co-authorship factor to adjust for effective productivity in refereed journals.     

A psychological, attitudinal and professional profile of Irish economists

This paper provides the first psychological and attitudinal profile of the Irish economics profession. The aspects covered fall into three broad categories: the first category relates to the attitudes of the respondents to issues relating to the economy and the role of government; the second set seeks responses regarding perceptions of the economics profession and professional economists in Ireland; the third set of questions are drawn from various international survey programmes and survey social, political, ethical and psychological attributes and attitudes. The results display a picture of a group who believe their discipline to be relevant to policy and society, who are outward looking in terms of international collaboration, who perceive the discipline to be somewhat stale and who desire a greater focus on interdisciplinary work.     

Regional mobility of economists: An extension

We extend Davis and Patterson’s analysis of the incidence and determinants of regional mobility of Ph.D. economists. By exploiting previously collected data, we identify the patterns of regional mobility not only at the point of entry into the labor market for economists who received their doctoral degree in 1968 but also the net mobility of these economists over a 25-year period. The net effects of regional mobility decisions made between graduation in 1968 and year-25 employment in 1993, and between initial professional employment in 1969 and year-25 employment in 1993, are analyzed. Our results suggest that many economists demonstrate a propensity to“nest“ in their degree and first-job regions of employment and that those employed in government service and those with a greater diversity of work experience are more likely to migrate across regions during their careers.     

The reflexive self and culture: a critique

This article attempts to engage with a tendency in the theorization of social change and self-identity, evident in the work of a number of contemporary social theorists, to place an extended process of reflexivity at the heart of modern identity. As symptomatic of 'neo-modern' accounts of selfhood, critical readings of Giddens, Beck, Castells and some aspects of social theory more generally, and their account of modern reflexivity's relationship to culture, are assessed. In light of these criticisms, ways in which culture might still play an important part in the shaping of identity are considered. The relationship between language, culture and reflexivity, drawing from philosophy, sociology and G. H. Mead's own brand of social psychology, are all utilized in establishing a critique of the role Giddens and others designate for culture in the constitution of the contemporary self. By potentially repositioning self-identity in its connection to culture, the overall bearing of reflexivity upon the processes of self-identity is thus questioned. It is argued that a culturally-situated, yet fluid and multifarious account of self-identity is a necessary analytical and normative alternative.     

The race relations problematic in American sociology: A case study and critique

This article reports the results of an analysis of all racial and ethnic relations articles published in the American Journal of Sociology, the American Sociological Review, Social Forces, and Social Problems, from January 1969 through December 1995. The analysis identifies by journal: 1) major methodological orientation(s); 2) how the concepts of “race,” “ethnicity,” and racial and ethnic relations are operationalized, which is useful for examining tendencies toward, or against, reification; 3) substantive content—that is, what a sociology of racial and ethnic relations is; and 4) primary context—that is, are racial and ethnic relations treated as a substantive subdiscipline in their own right, or are they merely a topic of interest for other subdisciplines such as social psychology? In brief, although some differences exist between the journals, all four journals publish disproportionately racial and ethnic relations research that: 1) is highly quantitative as opposed to theoretical, conceptual, or sociohistorical; 2) reifies U.S. Census definitions of race and ethnicity as opposed to critically evaluating such definitions; 3) social psychologizes racial and ethnic relations, or subsumes such relations under stratification processes; and 4) subsumes the racial and ethnic relations problematic under subdiscipline rubrics other than a sociology of racial and ethnic relations. The conclusion discusses the implications of these findings; for example, by virtue of what they publish, these journals construct a paradigmatic frame that gives precedence to, or legitimizes, some views and excludes, or de-legitimizes others.     

A critique of integration

The term ‘integration’ is a category used both in political discourse and in sociological analysis. In political discourse, in the public debate, it has become a magic word which accompanies repression when a political power is unable to deal with major difficulties, particularly in poor neighbourhoods. The so-called ‘models of integration’ are all failing, whether in the United Kingdom after the terrorist attacks of 2005, in the Netherlands after the murder of Theo Van Gogh and Pim Fortuyn, or in France after the riots of 2005. In political and social life, integration is far from able to account for realities or to implement public policies successfully. From a sociological perspective, integration is connected with approaches which are centred on society or the social system, much more than with those that deal with the subjectivity of individuals and their capacity for personal or collective action. This means that integration belongs much more to traditional sociological thinking than to the new contemporary sociological imagination.