IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ana/elitjr/v4y2022i1p22-42.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Ontological Roots of the Schism in Economics and the Origins of the Conflicts between Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy

Author

Listed:
  • Emre Akanak

    (Atilim University)

Abstract

This paper discusses the roots of the unending conflicts between Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy in economics, including the paradigms behind the main disagreements. Historically, it is impossible to define any school of economics and thought – in Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy – via homogeneous and monolith terms, concepts, outlines, definitions, and ideas. The most essential and obvious fact of the economy (and the especially central fact of political economy) is the "transformation of economics," including concepts, methodologies, understanding, and even perception(s). Since the early 19th Century, the "concept of economics" has transformed and changed. This process has been advancing on controversial studies based on concrete facts and phenomena in human life (especially inflation, unemployment, growth, wealth, poverty, development, etc.). But just like the methodologies and understanding of the facts, thoughts, and focuses of economic studies, the concepts (and outcomes of these concepts) have also been transforming. Unfortunately, most economists still choose to label themselves via one of the "poles" (Orthodox or Heterodox) and become part of/this polarization. And the economy has much more profound and solid polarization than any other social sciences and natural sciences (math, statistics, physics, chemistry, etc.). Also, this polarization means more than just methodologic differentiation. It also includes biases and, most of the time, ideologic backgrounds. This fact makes "the schism" much deep, unique and vital, especially in critical periods (such as like financial crisis in 2007, Covid19 in 2019, and many others). Also, unlike other social sciences, economics is directly related to daily life (and political dilemmas).

Suggested Citation

  • Emre Akanak, 2022. "Ontological Roots of the Schism in Economics and the Origins of the Conflicts between Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy," Economics Literature, WERI-World Economic Research Institute, vol. 4(1), pages 22-42, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:ana:elitjr:v:4:y:2022:i:1:p:22-42
    DOI: 10.22440/elit.4.1.2
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://elit.weri.eu/index.php/elit/article/view/69/42
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22440/elit.4.1.2?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Orthodoxy; orthodox economics; heterodoxy; heterodox economics; mainstream economics; ontology; schism; political economy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B00 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - General - - - History of Economic Thought, Methodology, and Heterodox Approaches
    • B12 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought through 1925 - - - Classical (includes Adam Smith)
    • B13 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought through 1925 - - - Neoclassical through 1925 (Austrian, Marshallian, Walrasian, Wicksellian)
    • B19 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought through 1925 - - - Other
    • B20 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925 - - - General
    • B29 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925 - - - Other
    • B41 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Economic Methodology - - - Economic Methodology
    • B49 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Economic Methodology - - - Other
    • B50 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - General
    • B51 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Socialist; Marxian; Sraffian
    • B52 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Historical; Institutional; Evolutionary; Modern Monetary Theory;
    • B53 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Austrian

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ana:elitjr:v:4:y:2022:i:1:p:22-42. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Unal Tongur (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ewanatr.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.