Rethinking Economics: Reflections Based on a Study of the Indian Economy

Utilizing his four decades of experience of studying different aspects of the Indian economy, author C. T. Kurien critically examines the basic presuppositions of economic theories. In Rethinking Economics, he argues that neoclassical theory--which distorts rather than illuminates real-life economic problems--can be traced to the efforts of early pioneers who shaped economics along the lines of Newtonian physics and later theorists who were reluctant to depart from that tradition. However, this book displays Kurien's alternative conceptualization of the economy as an evolving and complex social system. Central to this new model is the framing of the group--individuals organized as communities via institutional arrangements--as the primary unit of the economy. Incorporating a units-and-links approach that empirically identifies the units and their spacial-temporal links, the analytical framework goes on to identify the essential features of the economy that differentiate it from other social relationships. This major contribution identifies the substantial essentials of the economy and reflects on the kind of changes required to make economic theory more responsive to real-life economic problems. Supported by empirical description and the personal experience of one of India's distinguished economists, Rethinking Economics will be invaluable for those concerned with economic theory, economic sociology and anthropology, and social science methodology.