How Economics Forgot History

<p>In arguably his most important book to date, Hodgson calls into question the tendency of economic method to try and explain all economic phenomena by using the same catch-all theories and dealing in universal truths. He argues that you need different theories to analyze different economic phenomena and systems and that historical context must be taken into account.<br><br>Hodgson argues that the German Historical School was key in laying the foundations for the work of the pioneer institutional economists, who themselves are gaining currency today; and that the growing interest in this school of thought is contributing to a more complete understanding of socio-economic theory.</p> Part I: Introduction;1: The Limitations of General Theory; 2: The Problem of Historical SpecificityPart II: The Nineteenth Century: The German Historical School and its Impact3: Karl Marx and the Specificity of the Capitalist System: 4: The Older Historical School in Germany; 5: The Historical School in the British Isles; 6: The Methodological Failure of the Older Historical School; 7: Out of Austria: Carl Menger and the Methodenstreit; 8: Alfred Marshall and the British Methodendiskurs; 9: The Responses of the Younger Historical School in GermanyPart III: The Twentieth Century: From American Institutionalism to the End of History10: Thorstein Veblen and the Foundations of Institutionalism; 11: Early American Institutionalism and the Problem of Historical Specificity; 12: The Theoretical Manifesto of John Commons; 13: Talcott Parsons and the Ascent of Ahistorical Sociology; 14: Death and Counter-Revolution at the London School of Economics; 15: John Maynard Keynes and his Declaration of a General Theory; 16: The Triumph of Barren Universality; 17: Institution Blindness and the End of HistoryPart IV: The Millennium: The Second Coming of History?18: Are there Universals in Social and Economic Theory?; 19: Property, Culture, Habits and Institutions; 20: Exchange and Production: Property and Firms; 21: A Note on Social Formations and Levels of Abstraction; 22: An Evolutionary Perspective on the Historical Problem; 23: Invention is Helpless without Tradition