Toward a Rational Grasp of Irrationality: Some Gaps in Social and Economic Theory

In: International journal of politics, culture and society, Band 9, Heft 1, S. 5-28

Abstract

Post-WWI political & economic analysts focused on the irrational dimensions of political & economic processes to solve problems like depression, business cycles, the adverse consequences of a free market economy, & social disintegration as a result of these problems. They assumed that sociology & economics shared common assumptions about social behavior. Keynesianism became the dominant economic theory until the mid-1960s, with Talcott Parsons's structural-functional systems theory the dominant sociological counterpart. More recently, a plethora of lifestyle & moralistically grounded theories on social behavior have been introduced. Research methods today are inadequate to describe & analyze current political, economic, & social realities, eg, the unfulfilled expectations of the welfare state, the worldwide economic costs of the Cold & Vietnam wars, unemployment due to technology, the loss of US economic leadership, & ethnic separatism. These issues point to research conceptualizing a worldwide economic system, fluid power differentials, the interconnection of economic & political stability, & new forms of unemployment & underemployment. Irrationality will continue to exist in political, religious, & other forms, as unfulfilled economic expectations, too-rapid urbanization, & hasty industrialization ensue. Individual needs will continue to be irrational, creating a tension for the rational organization of industry, administration, & other large-scale institutions. M. Pflum