Evolutionary Social Theory and Political Economy traces the origins, extension, marginalization and revival of evolutionary approaches to social theory from the Enlightenment through the beginning of the 21st century. It demonstrates how changes in understandings of social evolution corresponded to changes in definitions of Political Economy and how both reflected changes in the Philosophy of Science. This book is written for students and researchers alike in all the social sciences. Economists will benefit from understanding how ideas about evolution in Economics corresponded to ideas about evolution in other social sciences, and Social Scientists outside of Economics will benefit from understanding how Economics has related to their discipline.

"Evolutionary Social Theory and Political Economy traces the origins, extension, marginalization, and revival of evolutionary approaches to social theory from the Enlightenment through the beginning of the 21st century. It demonstrates how changes in understandings of social evolution corresponded to changes in definitions of Political Economy and how both reflected changes in the Philosophy of Science. The book is written for students and researchers alike in all the social sciences. Economists will benefit from understanding how ideas about evolution in Economics corresponded to ideas about evolution in other social sciences and Social Scientists outside of Economics will benefit from understanding how Economics has related to their discipline"--

The world is in turmoil, the dynamics of political economy seem to have entered a phase where a ‘return to normal’ cannot be expected. Since the financial crisis, conventional economic theory has proven itself to be rather helpless and political decision makers have become suspicious about this type of economic consultancy. This book offers a different approach. It promises to describe political and economic dynamics as interwoven as they are in real life and it adds to that an evolutionary perspective. The latter allows for a long-run view, which makes it possible to discuss the emergence and exit of social institutions. The essays in this volume explore the theoretical and methodological aspects of evolutionary political economy. In part one, the authors consider the foundational contributions of some of the great economists of the past, while the second part demonstrates the benefits of adopting the methods of computer simulation and agent-based modelling. Together, the contributions to this volume demonstrate the richness, diversity and great explanatory potential of evolutionary political economy. This volume is extremely useful for social scientists in the fields of economics, politics, and sociology who are interested to learn what evolutionary political economy is, how it proceeds and what it can provide.

The marginalist revolution of the late nineteenth century consolidated what Karl Marx and Piero Sraffa called ‘vulgar economy’, bringing with it an emphasis on a scarcity theory that replaced the classical surplus theory. However, the classical political economy of Adam Smith and David Ricardo has been revived within the Cambridge economic tradition. This book looks at how different branches of the Cambridge economic tradition have focused on various aspects of this revival over time. The author shows that classical political economy is distinct from vulgar political economy in terms of its economic, social, and ethical theory, with each difference resting on an issue of ontology. Structured in three parts, the book examines the central contested aspects of these theories, namely the nature of value, the relationship between human beings and social structure, and the nature of human wellbeing. The Cambridge Revival of Political Economy will be relevant to students and researchers within the fields of political economy, history of economic thought, politics and philosophy.

Social ontology is the study of the nature and basic structure of social reality. It is a rapidly growing field at the intersection of philosophy and social science that has the potential to greatly assist social researchers of all kinds. One of the longest running projects in social ontology has developed over the better part of the last four decades through the work of Tony Lawson and the Cambridge Social Ontology Group. Cambridge social ontology has its origins in an assessment that the widespread explanatory failure of modern mainstream economics, as well as in the social sciences more generally, is due to sustained ontological neglect and the resulting use of research methods that are inappropriate, given the nature of social material. The Cambridge project’s aim has been to rectify this neglect through conducting explicit and sustained inquiry into the nature of social material with a view to elaborating an explanatorily powerful conception of social ontology. The result is social positioning theory. This book is an introduction to the key features of social positioning theory, provides context as to the theory’s development and illustrates how social positioning theory can clarify the natures of phenomena such as gender and the corporation. Cambridge Social Ontology is for social scientists, philosophers and all readers interested in gaining a better understanding of the nature of social phenomena.

This collection of seminal readings in international political economy charts the historical and theoretical evolution of the field from the seventeenth century to the present day. Bringing together classic works and leading contemporary arguments, this book outlines the development of three schools of IPE thought - Economic Nationalism, Liberalism and Marxism - while also including theoretical perspectives beyond the dominant traditions. The third edition not only retains but increases the number of classic works from the previous editions while also updating the reader with contemporary writings reflecting the most important recent theoretical developments in the field. It also incorporates new theoretical terrains with sections on feminist and Green IPE, as well as a wholly new introduction. Readings include works by Thomas Mun, Adam Smith, David Ricardo, John Stuart Mill, Alexander Hamilton, Friedrich List, Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, V. I. Lenin, Karl Kautsky, Robert Keohane, Andrew Moravcsik, Robert Wade, Benjamin Cohen, Robert W. Cox, Giovanni Arrighi, Roland Vaubel, Ronald Rogowski, Michael Hardt, Antonio Negri, Marieke de Goede, Ann Tickner, Spike Peterson, Eric Helleiner and Alf Hornborg. Providing many of the most frequently cited IPE references in a single volume, the third edition of The Theoretical Evolution of International Political Economy continues to be an essential resource for students of both international relations and international economics.

This collection of seminal readings in international political economy charts the historical and theoretical evolution of the field from the seventeenth century to the present day. Bringing together classic works and leading contemporary arguments, this book outlines the development of three schools of IPE thought - Economic Nationalism, Liberalism and Marxism - while also including theoretical perspectives beyond the dominant traditions. The third edition not only retains but increases the number of classic works from the previous editions while also updating the reader with contemporary writings reflecting the most important recent theoretical developments in the field. It also incorporates new theoretical terrains with sections on feminist and Green IPE, as well as a wholly new introduction. Readings include works by Thomas Mun, Adam Smith, David Ricardo, John Stuart Mill, Alexander Hamilton, Friedrich List, Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, V. I. Lenin, Karl Kautsky, Robert Keohane, Andrew Moravcsik, Robert Wade, Benjamin Cohen, Robert W. Cox, Giovanni Arrighi, Roland Vaubel, Ronald Rogowski, Michael Hardt, Antonio Negri, Marieke de Goede, Ann Tickner, Spike Peterson, Eric Helleiner and Alf Hornborg. Providing many of the most frequently cited IPE references in a single volume, the third edition of The Theoretical Evolution of International Political Economy continues to be an essential resource for students of both international relations and international economics.

Originally published in 1971 and now reissued with a new Preface by John Offer this book examines the historical origins, (both institutional and academic) of social policy and administration and the theoretical contribution of such key figures in the development of the social sciences as Marx, Spencer, Weber and Durkheim. It then analyses the application of normative theory in this field; examines the concepts of exchange and stigma in social welfare; and looks at the idea of citizenship and the use of the social services. In a final section the author presents a number of models of social welfare.

The authors are proud sponsors of the 2020 SAGE Keith Roberts Teaching Innovations Award—enabling graduate students and early career faculty to attend the annual ASA pre-conference teaching and learning workshop. Classical Sociological Theory, Eighth Edition, provides a comprehensive overview of the major theorists and schools of sociological thought from the Enlightenment roots of theory through the early 20th century. The integration of key theories with biographical sketches of theorists and the requisite historical and intellectual context helps students to better understand the original works of classical authors as well as to compare and contrast classical theories.