Geoffrey M. Hodgson – författare

The Left is in crisis. Despite global economic turbulence, left-wing political parties in many countries have failed to make progress in part because they have grown too ideologically fragmented. Today, the term Left is associated with state intervention and public ownership, but this has little in common with the original meaning of the term. What caused what we mean by the Left to change, and how has that hindered progress? With Wrong-Turnings, Geoffrey M. Hodgson tracks changes in the meaning of the Left and offers suggestions for how the Left might reclaim some of its core values. The term Left originated during the French Revolution, when revolutionaries sought to abolish the monarchy and privilege and to introduce a new society based on liberty, equality, fraternity, and universal rights. Over time, however, the meaning radically changed, especially through the influence of socialism and collectivism. Hodgson argues that the Left must rediscover its roots in the Enlightenment and readopt Enlightenment values it has abandoned, such as those concerning democracy and universal human rights.Only then will it be prepared to address contemporary problems of inequality and the survival of democracy. Possible measures could include enhanced educational provisions, a guaranteed basic income, and a viable mechanism for fair distribution of wealth.Wrong-Turnings is a truly pathbreaking work from one of our most prolific and respected institutional theorists. It will change our understanding of how the left got lost.

The Left is in crisis. Despite global economic turbulence, left-wing political parties in many countries have failed to make progress in part because they have grown too ideologically fragmented. Today, the term Left is associated with state intervention and public ownership, but this has little in common with the original meaning of the term. What caused what we mean by the Left to change, and how has that hindered progress? With Wrong-Turnings, Geoffrey M. Hodgson tracks changes in the meaning of the Left and offers suggestions for how the Left might reclaim some of its core values. The term Left originated during the French Revolution, when revolutionaries sought to abolish the monarchy and privilege and to introduce a new society based on liberty, equality, fraternity, and universal rights. Over time, however, the meaning radically changed, especially through the influence of socialism and collectivism. Hodgson argues that the Left must rediscover its roots in the Enlightenment and readopt Enlightenment values it has abandoned, such as those concerning democracy and universal human rights. Only then will it be prepared to address contemporary problems of inequality and the survival of democracy. Possible measures could include enhanced educational provisions, a guaranteed basic income, and a viable mechanism for fair distribution of wealth. Wrong-Turnings is a truly pathbreaking work from one of our most prolific and respected institutional theorists. It will change our understanding of how the left got lost.  

Are humans at their core seekers of their own pleasure or cooperative members of society? Paradoxically, they are both. Pleasure seeking can take place only within the context of what works within a defined community, and central to any community are the evolved codes and principles guiding appropriate behavior or morality. The complex interaction of morality and self-interest is at the heart of Geoffrey M. Hodgson's approach to evolutionary economics, which is designed to bring about a better understanding of human behavior. In "From Pleasure Machines to Moral Communities", Hodgson casts a critical eye on neoclassical individualism, its foundations and flaws, and turns to recent insights from research on the evolutionary bases of human behavior. He focuses his attention on the evolution of morality, its meaning, why it came about, and how it influences human attitudes and behavior. This more nuanced understanding sets the stage for a fascinating investigation of its implications for a range of pressing issues drawn from diverse environments, including the business world and crucial policy realms like health care and ecology.This book provides a valuable complement to Hodgson's earlier work with Thorbjorn Knudsen on evolutionary economics in Darwin's Conjecture, extending the evolutionary outlook to include moral and policy-related issues.

A collection of essays, this book spans Marxian and Sraffian economics on the one hand and institutional economics on the other. Recent events in eastern Europe have underlined the limitations of Marxian economic and political theory. Hodgson subjects Marxian economic theory to critical examination and shows which elements retain their modern relevance. After considering the contribution of Sraffa's work and indicating both its critical potential and theoretical limitations, he points to a new synthesis which embraces Marx, Keynes and Veblen.

Since the fall of the Berlin Wall we have been told that no alternative to Western capitalism is possible or desirable. This book challenges this view with two arguments. First, the above premise ignores the enormous variety within capitalism itself. Second, there are enormous forces of transformation within contemporary capitalisms, associated with moves towards a more knowledge-intensive economy. These forces challenge the traditional bases of contract and employment, and could lead to a quite different socio-economic system. Without proposing a static blueprint, this book explores this possible scenario.

Since the fall of the Berlin Wall we have been told that no alternative to Western capitalism is possible or desirable. This book challenges this view with two arguments. First, the above premise ignores the enormous variety within capitalism itself. Second, there are enormous forces of transformation within contemporary capitalisms, associated with moves towards a more knowledge-intensive economy. These forces challenge the traditional bases of contract and employment, and could lead to a quite different socio-economic system. Without proposing a static blueprint, this book explores this possible scenario.

In arguably his most important book to date, Hodgson calls into question the tendency of economic method to try and explain all economic phenomena by using the same catch-all theories and dealing in universal truths. He argues that you need different theories to analyze different economic phenomena and systems and that historical context must be taken into account.Hodgson argues that the German Historical School was key in laying the foundations for the work of the pioneer institutional economists, who themselves are gaining currency today; and that the growing interest in this school of thought is contributing to a more complete understanding of socio-economic theory.

In arguably his most important book to date, Hodgson calls into question the tendency of economic method to try and explain all economic phenomena by using the same catch-all theories and dealing in universal truths. He argues that you need different theories to analyze different economic phenomena and systems and that historical context must be taken into account.Hodgson argues that the German Historical School was key in laying the foundations for the work of the pioneer institutional economists, who themselves are gaining currency today; and that the growing interest in this school of thought is contributing to a more complete understanding of socio-economic theory.

This exciting new book from Geoffrey Hodgson is eagerly awaited by social scientists from many different backgrounds. This book charts the rise, fall and renewal of institutional economics in the critical, analytical and readable style that Hodgson's fans have come to know and love, and that a new generation of readers will surely come to appreciate.

This exciting new book from Geoffrey Hodgson is eagerly awaited by social scientists from many different backgrounds. This book charts the rise, fall and renewal of institutional economics in the critical, analytical and readable style that Hodgson's fans have come to know and love, and that a new generation of readers will surely come to appreciate.

The 38 selections in the volume include complete texts of all of Veblen’s major articles and book reviews from 1882 to 1914, plus key chapters from his books The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899), The Theory of Business Enterprise (1904) and The Instinct of Workmanship (1914). These writings present a wide range of Veblen’s most significant contributions, especially with respect to the philosophical and psychological foundations of economics, sociology, and other social sciences. A thorougly comprehensive volume, this is the only collection to present Veblen’s writings in chronological order, so that their development can be correctly understood. The volume is edited by a leading sociologist and a prominent economist, who provide extensive introductory essays which include item-by-item commentaries that place each selection in its intellectual-historical context and in relation to subsequent developments in economics. It makes for a valuable source of reference both for students and researchers alike..

The 38 selections in the volume include complete texts of all of Veblen’s major articles and book reviews from 1882 to 1914, plus key chapters from his books The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899), The Theory of Business Enterprise (1904) and The Instinct of Workmanship (1914). These writings present a wide range of Veblen’s most significant contributions, especially with respect to the philosophical and psychological foundations of economics, sociology, and other social sciences. A thorougly comprehensive volume, this is the only collection to present Veblen’s writings in chronological order, so that their development can be correctly understood. The volume is edited by a leading sociologist and a prominent economist, who provide extensive introductory essays which include item-by-item commentaries that place each selection in its intellectual-historical context and in relation to subsequent developments in economics. It makes for a valuable source of reference both for students and researchers alike..

How the development of legal and financial institutions transformed Britain into the world’s first capitalist countryModern capitalism emerged in England in the eighteenth century and ushered in the Industrial Revolution, though scholars have long debated why. Some attribute the causes to technological change while others point to the Protestant ethic, liberal ideas, and cultural change. The Wealth of a Nation reveals the crucial developments in legal and financial institutions in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries that help to explain this dramatic transformation.Offering new perspectives on the early history of capitalism, Geoffrey Hodgson describes how, for the emerging British economy, pressures from without were as important as evolution from within. He shows how intensive military conflicts overseas forced the state to undertake major financial, administrative, legal, and political reforms. The resulting institutional changes not only bolstered the British war machine—they fostered the Industrial Revolution. Hodgson traces how Britain’s war capitalism led to an expansion of its empire and a staggering increase in the slave trade, and how the institutional innovations that radically transformed the British economy were copied and adapted by countries around the world.A landmark work of scholarship, The Wealth of a Nation sheds light on how external factors such as war gave rise to institutional arrangements that facilitated finance, banking, and investment, and offers a conceptual framework for further research into the origins and consolidation of capitalism in England.

How the development of legal and financial institutions transformed Britain into the world’s first capitalist countryModern capitalism emerged in England in the eighteenth century and ushered in the Industrial Revolution, though scholars have long debated why. Some attribute the causes to technological change while others point to the Protestant ethic, liberal ideas, and cultural change. The Wealth of a Nation reveals the crucial developments in legal and financial institutions in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries that help to explain this dramatic transformation.Offering new perspectives on the early history of capitalism, Geoffrey Hodgson describes how, for the emerging British economy, pressures from without were as important as evolution from within. He shows how intensive military conflicts overseas forced the state to undertake major financial, administrative, legal, and political reforms. The resulting institutional changes not only bolstered the British war machine—they fostered the Industrial Revolution. Hodgson traces how Britain’s war capitalism led to an expansion of its empire and a staggering increase in the slave trade, and how the institutional innovations that radically transformed the British economy were copied and adapted by countries around the world.A landmark work of scholarship, The Wealth of a Nation sheds light on how external factors such as war gave rise to institutional arrangements that facilitated finance, banking, and investment, and offers a conceptual framework for further research into the origins and consolidation of capitalism in England.

The legal concepts that can fundamentally inform the economics of institutionsIn Legal Institutionalism, the eminent economist Geoffrey Hodgson proposes a new analytic approach for understanding modern economic institutions. Law helps to constitute some of the key features of modern market economies. Moreover, there is evidence that many people believe that obeying the law is important in itself, especially when it is deemed just, legitimate, and uncorrupt. Consequently, he argues, the role of law must be considered in analyses of the nature and dynamics of modern economic institutions and the motivations of economic agents.Hodgson lays out the basic approach and intellectual assumptions of legal institutionalism, citing such thinkers as Adam Smith and Karl Marx as well as insights from institutional economics, law, philosophy, psychology, and social theory. He considers how legal institutions emerged and evolved throughout history, stressing their importance in large-scale, complex economies. Informal rules and relations are vital as well, he explains, but these often rely on face-to-face contact, with smaller numbers of people. He shows that by examining relevant legal rules and relations alongside important informal rules, we can improve our understanding of the nature and role of property, contracts, money, and firms. Revisiting the socialist calculation debate on the feasibility of socialist planning, Hodgson argues that both sides paid insufficient attention to legal issues and underestimated the importance and inevitability of mixed economies.This milestone work by Hodgson has major implications for both theory and policy, suggesting new approaches to economic development, the theory of the firm, and countering the policy extremes of markets versus states.

Traditionally, economists have attributed consistency and rational calculation to the action of ‘economic man’. In a powerful challenge to orthodox thinking, Geoffrey Hodgson maintains that social institutions play a central and essential role in molding preferences and guiding action: institutions are regarded as enabling action rather than merely providing constraints. From this perspective, the author takes on the ‘free marketers’ such as Milton Friedman and the ‘new institutionalism’ of Oliver Williamson. He argues against the neo-classical and Austrian views of the operation of markets, offering instead a convincing new synthesis of the work of Keynes, Veblen, Simon and Marx. Taking up the implications of his argument, Hodgson calls for a radically new policy perspective based on structural reform and institutional intervention.This work will be required reading for economics students in their second and third years and will be of interest to students and academics throughout the social sciences.

In this revealing and eminently readable book, Geoffrey M. Hodgson takes readers on an intellectual odyssey through his distinguished career and his work as one of the leading institutional and evolutionary economists. Depicting his life throughout the Cold War, grappling with the military and economic rivalry of two different systems and the threat of nuclear war, to becoming an economist in the 1970s, and his ventures into institutional and evolutionary economics.Examining the evolution of Hodgson’s thinking and citing the events and experiences that helped to transform his vision, chapters cover the impact of the Cold War and subsequent events on Hodgson's thinking. He summarizes his main written contributions, with suggestions for the reform of economics and the development of its theoretical foundations. The book also calls for the development of better theories and policies in economics, helping to yield more effective outcomes to enhance human wellbeing and build a better and fairer world.Showcasing some of the problems and potentialities of the discipline, From Marx to Markets is a useful resource for students considering, or having embarked on, the study of economics. It is also an essential read for academics in the social sciences and law.

In this revealing and eminently readable book, Geoffrey M. Hodgson takes readers on an intellectual odyssey through his distinguished career and his work as one of the leading institutional and evolutionary economists. Depicting his life throughout the Cold War, grappling with the military and economic rivalry of two different systems and the threat of nuclear war, to becoming an economist in the 1970s, and his ventures into institutional and evolutionary economics.

Examining the evolution of Hodgson’s thinking and citing the events and experiences that helped to transform his vision, chapters cover the impact of the Cold War and subsequent events on Hodgson''s thinking. He summarizes his main written contributions, with suggestions for the reform of economics and the development of its theoretical foundations. The book also calls for the development of better theories and policies in economics, helping to yield more effective outcomes to enhance human wellbeing and build a better and fairer world.

Showcasing some of the problems and potentialities of the discipline, From Marx to Markets is a useful resource for students considering, or having embarked on, the study of economics. It is also an essential read for academics in the social sciences and law.

In this revealing and eminently readable book, Geoffrey M. Hodgson takes readers on an intellectual odyssey through his distinguished career and his work as one of the leading institutional and evolutionary economists. Depicting his life throughout the Cold War, grappling with the military and economic rivalry of two different systems and the threat of nuclear war, to becoming an economist in the 1970s, and his ventures into institutional and evolutionary economics.Examining the evolution of Hodgson's thinking and citing the events and experiences that helped to transform his vision, chapters cover the impact of the Cold War and subsequent events on Hodgson's thinking. He summarizes his main written contributions, with suggestions for the reform of economics and the development of its theoretical foundations. The book also calls for the development of better theories and policies in economics, helping to yield more effective outcomes to enhance human wellbeing and build a better and fairer world.Showcasing some of the problems and potentialities of the discipline, From Marx to Markets is a useful resource for students considering, or having embarked on, the study of economics. It is also an essential read for academics in the social sciences and law.

In this revealing and eminently readable book, Geoffrey M. Hodgson takes readers on an intellectual odyssey through his distinguished career and his work as one of the leading institutional and evolutionary economists. Depicting his life throughout the Cold War, grappling with the military and economic rivalry of two different systems and the threat of nuclear war, to becoming an economist in the 1970s, and his ventures into institutional and evolutionary economics.Examining the evolution of Hodgson’s thinking and citing the events and experiences that helped to transform his vision, chapters cover the impact of the Cold War and subsequent events on Hodgson's thinking. He summarizes his main written contributions, with suggestions for the reform of economics and the development of its theoretical foundations. The book also calls for the development of better theories and policies in economics, helping to yield more effective outcomes to enhance human wellbeing and build a better and fairer world.Showcasing some of the problems and potentialities of the discipline, From Marx to Markets is a useful resource for students considering, or having embarked on, the study of economics. It is also an essential read for academics in the social sciences and law.

This Element examines the historical emergence of evolutionary economics, its development into a strong research theme after 1980, and how it has hosted a diverse set of approaches. Its focus on complexity, economic dynamics and bounded rationality is underlined. Its core ideas are compared with those of mainstream economics. But while evolutionary economics has inspired research in a number of areas in business studies and social science, these have become specialized and fragmented. Evolutionary economics lacks a sufficiently-developed core theory that might promote greater conversation across these fields. A possible unifying framework is generalized Darwinism. Stronger links could also be made with other areas of evolutionary research, such as with evolutionary anthropology and evolutionary psychology. As evolutionary economics has migrated from departments of economics to business schools, institutes of innovation studies and elsewhere, it also needs to address the problem of its lack of a single disciplinary location within academia.

This Element examines the historical emergence of evolutionary economics, its development into a strong research theme after 1980, and how it has hosted a diverse set of approaches. Its focus on complexity, economic dynamics and bounded rationality is underlined. Its core ideas are compared with those of mainstream economics. But while evolutionary economics has inspired research in a number of areas in business studies and social science, these have become specialized and fragmented. Evolutionary economics lacks a sufficiently-developed core theory that might promote greater conversation across these fields. A possible unifying framework is generalized Darwinism. Stronger links could also be made with other areas of evolutionary research, such as with evolutionary anthropology and evolutionary psychology. As evolutionary economics has migrated from departments of economics to business schools, institutes of innovation studies and elsewhere, it also needs to address the problem of its lack of a single disciplinary location within academia.

This Element examines the historical emergence of evolutionary economics, its development into a strong research theme after 1980, and how it has hosted a diverse set of approaches. Its focus on complexity, economic dynamics and bounded rationality is underlined. Its core ideas are compared with those of mainstream economics. But while evolutionary economics has inspired research in a number of areas in business studies and social science, these have become specialized and fragmented. Evolutionary economics lacks a sufficiently-developed core theory that might promote greater conversation across these fields. A possible unifying framework is generalized Darwinism. Stronger links could also be made with other areas of evolutionary research, such as with evolutionary anthropology and evolutionary psychology. As evolutionary economics has migrated from departments of economics to business schools, institutes of innovation studies and elsewhere, it also needs to address the problem of its lack of a single disciplinary location within academia.

This exciting new book from Geoffrey Hodgson is eagerly awaited by social scientists from many different backgrounds. This book charts the rise, fall and renewal of institutional economics in the critical, analytical and readable style that Hodgson''s fans have come to know and love, and that a new generation of readers will surely come to appreciat

This exciting new book from Geoffrey Hodgson is eagerly awaited by social scientists from many different backgrounds. This book charts the rise, fall and renewal of institutional economics in the critical, analytical and readable style that Hodgson''s fans have come to know and love, and that a new generation of readers will surely come to appreciat

In arguably his most important book to date, Hodgson calls into question the tendency of economic method to try and explain all economic phenomena by using the same catch-all theories and dealing in universal truths. He argues that you need different theories to analyze different economic phenomena and systems and that historical context must be ta

In arguably his most important book to date, Hodgson calls into question the tendency of economic method to try and explain all economic phenomena by using the same catch-all theories and dealing in universal truths. He argues that you need different theories to analyze different economic phenomena and systems and that historical context must be ta

Since the fall of the Berlin Wall we have been told that no alternative to Western capitalism is possible or desirable. This book challenges this view with two arguments. First, the above premise ignores the enormous variety within capitalism itself. Second, there are enormous forces of transformation within contemporary capitalisms, associated with moves towards a more knowledge-intensive economy. These forces challenge the traditional bases of contract and employment, and could lead to a quite different socio-economic system. Without proposing a static blueprint, this book explores this possible scenario.

Since the fall of the Berlin Wall we have been told that no alternative to Western capitalism is possible or desirable. This book challenges this view with two arguments. First, the above premise ignores the enormous variety within capitalism itself. Second, there are enormous forces of transformation within contemporary capitalisms, associated with moves towards a more knowledge-intensive economy. These forces challenge the traditional bases of contract and employment, and could lead to a quite different socio-economic system. Without proposing a static blueprint, this book explores this possible scenario.