This is chapter 3 of the book "Rethinking Sustainability: Power, Knowledge and Institutions" by Jonathan M. Harris (ed). Effective development usually must involve both the elite and the most needy within any particular society—these two groups being seen not as polar types but as the opposite...

This essay will not attempt to cover all the meanings of equity, but will proceed on the assumption of some common understandings of equality and fairness. It will first summarize briefly how the concept of equity has fared in the evolution of economic theory, from the classical economists of...

The good news is that many of the solutions to this extraordinary problem are within reach. Many of the solutions to global warming are not only feasible, they are economically and socially beneficial. While some claim that addressing global warming will have a negative impact on the economy,...

This is chapter 2 of the book "Future Directions in Heterodox Economics" by John T. Harvey and Robert F. Garnett, Jr., Editors. The inner circle of neoclassical economics has limited its horizons, increasing the scope for heterodox economists to claim ever more of the most important issues. Two...

Business leaders and voting citizens as well as policy makers are influenced in their decision-making by the idea that a “perfectly free” market can produce a social optimum (a “best of all possible worlds”). Because this idea is so influential, it is important to understand the...

The critical role for economic theory is no longer simply to explain how the existing system works, but also to explore how the economic system can be changed to become more adaptive and resilient in the face of the challenges of the 21st century, and how it can be more directly designed to...

This is Chapter 4 from "Social Economics: An Alternative Theory" (St. Martin's Press, 1991). This chapter focuses on the human subjects of economic study, suggesting that the psychology offered in neoclassical economics is severely inadequate to serve as the foundation for a social science....

This is Chapter 6 from Social Economics: An Alternative Theory (St. Martin's Press, 1991) There were issues of complexity, time and change which Alfred Marshall recognized as essential aspects of his subject but which were not readily dealt with by the 'scientific' techniques which he was...

This is Chapter 7 from Social Economics: An Alternative Theory (St. Martin's Press, 1991) Since Alfred Marshall's time, it has become ever more difficult to draw attention to the need for something besides technique to bridge the gap between the world that (presumably) exists outside our heads...