Suchergebnisse

The article analyzes the difference between "public" & "private" goods in light of concepts in Roman law & The Wealth of Nations. It points out that in many cases the dichotomy is erroneous. Furthermore, based on a broader classification of types of goods, it looks at different ways of avoiding what is known as the "tragedy of the commons." Bearing in mind the progress made in technology & information, it criticizes the copyright system as regards intangible assets. The reason is that said system is based on inexact concepts & premises & does not effectively provide incentives for the production of new knowledge. Adapted from the source document.

Ziel des Beitrags ist es, durch die Untersuchung einiger der Mängel der neo-realistischen Synthese aktuelle Bemühungen zur Theoriebildung in den Internationalen Beziehungen zu hinterfragen. Dabei wird in Anlehnung an Kenneth Bouldings angenommen, dass das internationale System weder auf ein Bedrohungssystem reduziert werden kann, noch auf ein Austauschsystem, das die Domäne der Wirtschaft ist. Stattdessen fordert der Autor eine Analyse der Weltpolitik, die beide Faktoren mit den Aspekten der Identität und Legitimität verbindet. Schwerpunkt des Beitrags ist die Untersuchung der Nützlichkeit und Grenzen besonderer Theorien für die Analyse komplexer sozialer Erscheinungen und für die Kritik populärer Fehlkonzeptionen. Am Beispiel dreier Politikbereiche (Politik der Wettbewerbsfähigkeit, Drang nach Liberalisierung, Problem der Sicherheit) geht es um die Frage, welcher Typ von Wissen und Wissenschaft für das Verständnis von Politik und das Machen von Politik nützlich ist. (ICH)

This article provides both a critical review of Alex Wendt's Social Theory of International Politics & its version of "constructivism," & a more principled assessment of "progress" in theory building in the social sciences. As to the first task, I argue that Wendt's attempt, that is both indebted to scientific realism & constructivism, fails because of the incompatibility of these two metatheoretical positions. Consequently, his effort of constructing a new "middle ground" is a disciplinary undertaking that is more likely to result in a new orthodoxy than in the creation of new interesting puzzles by engaging constructivism's heuristic power. In addressing the second question, I follow the epistemological discussion of the last few decades & attempt to show their dependence on the often uncritical acceptance of certain metaphors of "growth," "approximation," "foundations" that deserve closer critical examination, before we can embrace a particular metatheory & utilize its criteria in the assessment of knowledge claims. 1 Figure. Adapted from the source document.