About the Author; Introduction; 1 Economics between History and Anthropology; The trap of autonomous disciplines; Changing the optic; From reductionism to complexity; 2 A Failed Scientific Ambition; The triumph of mechanics; Thermodynamics and the irreversibility of time; The impotence of economic 'reason'; 3 Homo Oeconomicus: A Dangerous Phantom; The unlocatable individual; How to construct society?; The tautologies of methodological individualism; 4 Exchange; The right words for it; Prescription or proscription; Giving, receiving and giving back; Market exchange or inverted logic.
In: La revue internationale et stratégique: revue trimestrielle publiée par l'Institut de Relations Internationales et Stratégiques (IRIS), Volume 113, Issue 1, p. 83-89
The third contribution, Gilbert Rist's 'Before thinking about What Next: Prerequisites for alternatives', intertwines self-critical reflection on the premises of 'transformative' undertakings such as the What Next project with an interrogation of the notion of development. Both of these elements, Rist argues, are critical prerequisities for attempts to envision alternative futures. The deep-rooted belief in development, characteristic of modern society, he maintains, is a key reason why so many prevailing social, economic & environmental problems are not tackled successfully. For 'development' has become inexorably bound up with processes of ever-increasing 'commodification of nature & social relations', marketisation & economic growth, &, ultimately, a westernisation of the world. As such, it should not be seen as the solution to global problems, as the dominant discourse has it, but, in fact, as the very source of many of them. It is therefore urgent that we rid ourselves of the naive belief in the blessings of 'development', he states. But this may be a tall order, since development is one of the grand narratives of our age, an irrefutable 'good' transcending ideological divisions & deeply rooted in the Western psyche. The task requires deconstructing the assumptions & tacit epistemological preconditions which give rise to 'development thinking' in the first place, many of which have their roots in economic theory. If such 'deconstruction' is neglected, efforts like the What Next project, he writes, run the risk of reproducing 'the usual Western hegemonic programme' cloaked in the name of 'universalism'. In order to evade the ethnocentrism with which initiatives in the field of development have been historically associated it is imperative, as we aspire to tackle the current problems & envision a better future, that non-Western voices be placed at the core. Adapted from the source document.
