Peter Söderbaum — Redefining economics in terms of multidimensional analysis and democracy

A proposed new theoretical perspective starts with a partly different definition of economics:

“Economics is multidimensional management of (limited) resources in a democratic society”

Why “multidimensional” management? Multidimensional goes against the one-dimensional analysis of neoclassical theory and method. “Monetary reductionism” is no longer accepted. The idea that we should put a monetary price on all impacts, ecosystem services included, to make them commensurable and tradeable, is abandoned. Instead impacts of different kinds are kept separate throughout analysis. And non-monetary impacts are viewed as being as “economic” as monetary ones. This may make analysis more complex but also more relevant.…

Bringing trans-disciplinarity, social value, and quality of life into economic thinking at the foundational level.

Why reference to a democratic society? When reading neoclassical introductory textbooks in economics it becomes clear that “democracy” is not a theme taken seriously. These texts rather reflect an emphasis on economists as experts, i.e. a kind of technocracy....

Real-World Economics Review Blog
Redefining economics in terms of multidimensional analysis and democracy

Peter Söderbaum | Professor Emeritus In Ecological Economics,
Mälardalen University, Sweden