Sunday, January 29, 2012

Economics as Historic Science: A Philosophical Review of the Crisis of Economics (Shen Xiangping)


Abstract: Economics fell into crisis as a whole as it was proceeding in its will and effort of expansive imperialism. The most serious crisis is that of the basic hypothesis of capitalist economics : scarcity and the rational economic agent. The crisis originated from lack of awareness of the nature of historic science itself, and failure to carry out the principles and methods of historic sciences. At this stage, the only way that economics can overcome its crisis is to be true to the nature of a historic science.

THE PROBLEM AS DRAWN FROM THE CRISIS OF ECONOMICS

      There is a phenomenon that often called “the imperialism of economics” in the study of humanities and social science. It is “the economic approach to human behavior” according to Gary Becker, or it is “political economics” according to the school of public choice which studies politics using economics, or it is the way domestic economists studying culture use economic methods.