Contact Us
linkedin
twitter
  • ABOUT SSL
    • History
    • Contributors
  • DISCIPLINES
    • Anthropology
    • Economics
    • History
    • Philosophy
    • Political Science
    • Social Psychology
    • Sociology
  • SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
    • Evolving Values for a Capitalist World
    • Frontier Issues in Economic Thought
    • Galbraith Series
    • Global History
  • NEWSLETTER

The Relation Between Social Theory and Social Policy

  1. Home
  2. >>
  3. Economics
  4. >>
  5. Economics as a Social...
  6. >>
  7. Philosophy, Sociology of Economics
  8. >>
  9. The Relation Between Social...
The Relation Between Social Theory and Social Policy
Author(s)Myrdal, Gunnar
AbstractThe social sciences are expected to discover and analyze truths about various aspects of human experience. The motivation for such work is to contribute to human welfare. This paper focuses on the roles of trust and responsibility in economic life. The first section considers the possibility that, if a social science theory undermines welfare by ridiculing a reliance on such important contributors as responsibility and trust, this should raise a question as to whether there is something wrong with the theory. The second section explores particular areas of economic life where the importance of responsibility and trust are especially evident. The third section speculates on how concern for environmental values may assist in bringing the future home to the present. And in the fourth section the focus shifts to a consideration of how social conflicts of interest are handled in part by norms and in part by force. Finally, the author suggests some directions in which we need to shape the social sciences (with economics especially in mind) to make them more useful in conceptualizing our social goals and suggesting how to achieve them.
IssueNo
Pages9-54
ArticleAccess to Article
SourceValue in Social Theory: A Selection of Essays on Methodology
VolumeNo
PubDate1958
ISBN_ISSN710033702
Browse Path(s)

Economics as a Social Science

  • Alternatives to Mainstream Economics
  • Capitalism and Culture
  • Economic Ideas
  • Economics Education
  • Methods
  • Paradigms Compared
  • Philosophy, Sociology of Economics
  • Policy
  • Psychology and Behavior
  • Theory vs. Reality


Boston University | ECI | Contact Us

Copyright Notification: The Social Science Library (SSL) is for distribution in a defined set of countries. The complete list may be found here. Free distribution within these countries is encouraged, but copyright law forbids distribution outside of these countries.