Pluralism: lifeblood of post-Keynesian institutionalism

This article examines the scholarship of W. Robert Brazelton to underscore the vital role that pluralism plays in post-Keynesian institutionalism (PKI). In the early 1980s, Brazelton embraced pluralism within economics and drew attention to the compatibility of post-Keynesian economics and institutionalism. More recently, he highlighted the relevance to economics of research in other disciplines, including psychology and sociology. All the while, Brazelton has devoted special attention to the problem of business cycles, demonstrating how insight gleaned from a pluralist perspective toward economics advances our understanding of that problem. The article is structured as follows: an overview of PKI; a description of what is meant by pluralism in the context of PKI; an examination of Brazelton's scholarship; a discussion, including some suggestions for economics education that flow from Brazelton's research; and a conclusion.