RE Members Tell Us: Introductions to Pluralist Economics
For more resources like this, check out the Introduction to Heterodox Economics and Pluralist Movement categories on Rethinking Economics India Network’s newly launched Project Pluralist Resources. The project aims to build a public repository of resources to support students and scholars in learning pluralist economics. The database is constantly updated by our team by collating resources of various forms from several sources and organised across 21 categories.
What resources lead you towards pluralist economics? Did we miss them? Feel free to make your suggestions either by filling out this form or by dropping an email to us at india@rethinkeconomics.org
We asked Rethinking Economics members what resources were most influential in prompting them to ‘rethink’ economics and introduced them to heterodox/pluralist economics. Here is what they said!
Book
Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways To Think Like a 21st Century Economist by Kate Raworth
“Kate’s Doughnut Economics gave me a new perspective to look at the existing economic model. She criticised economics for being rigid and abstract in its knowledge of the world’s reality to become a pure science. Introduced in 2012, the concept of Doughnut Economics proposes reconsidering the current economic system and altering the purpose of national and global economies from simply raising GDP to establishing a society that provides enough resources and services to everyone. It envisions an environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable society. This is a must-read book for everyone interested in a different way of gauging economic growth.”
~ Apilang, RE India Network
“After years of being taught about the mythical utility-maximising rational consumer, anxiety-inducing growth rates and GDP, and reductionist graphs and equations, here was someone willing to reimagine economics as something we could make work for us as social beings desiring safe, just and equitable lives. Kate Raworth designs a visionary model of such an economics, in the shape of a doughnut, and describes seven ways we could build it. Raworth writes in lucid and convincing prose, easily digestible by undergraduate students and beginners in economics. I, for one, was ecstatic that my misgivings about mainstream economics were vindicated and that I had found an alternative in heterodox economics.”
~ Lintha, RE India Network
Book
The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen
“I was interested to find an intersection of economics and sociology, because up until then I’d been reading hard economic theories that were difficult to intuitively understand and subsequently question. This book pushed me to do my undergraduate dissertation and led me to the field of economic sociology.”
~ Amrita, RE India Network
Online Course
Moral Foundations of Politics by Ian Shapiro (Yale)
“The online course on political philosophy and ethics helped me gain a deeper understanding of the social and political ecosystems that the economy functions in tandem with and hence inspired me to move beyond mainstream economic models and study the economy through an interdisciplinary lens.”
~ Yashaswi, RE India Network
Book
The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times And Ideas Of The Great Economic Thinkers by Robert L. Heilbroner
“It was one of the first books on economic ideas that I read. This book gives a great introduction to the history of economic thought. It showed me economics is not just a single way of thinking about problems, rather it is a vast discipline where different perspectives are competing with each other to get one’s attention. Heilbroner writes about the contexts in which each of these perspectives evolved. Each chapter includes a biographical essay on the economist(s) covered, how their thinking grew out of, or was a reaction to, prior economic theory, and a nice overview of the contributions they made. One of the main challenges of producing such a work is getting the balance right in how much you plan to say about each ‘philosopher’ and their economic (or philosophical) theories. Heilbroner does it very well. It introduced me to the pluralism in economics without explicitly introducing it. It is one of those books that one will go back to over time as one explores economics further.”
~ Samyak, RE India Network
Journal Article
Political Aspects of Full Employment by Michal Kalecki
“In neoclassical economics, we are taught that economic outcomes are determined by the decisions of individuals, firms, and the government. Each of these actors is assumed to act solely on the basis of maximizing their economic self-interest. This, however, provides us with a very limited perspective on the economy. More specifically, it obviates the role that politics and political criteria play in the determination of economic policy decisions by the government. Kalecki’s writing helps us do just that. He emphasizes how political motives can influence the nature of fiscal policy. This, in turn, can have an influence on the path an economy takes towards full-employment.”
~ Dwayne, RE India Network
Book
Designs for the Pluriverse: Radical Interdependence, Autonomy, and the Making of Worlds by Arturo Escobar
“It was during my Masters that I first came across this book. It has deep insights into the many strands of design that work individually to serve capitalist ends. Reading this book was a gateway into the world of the possibilities of collaborations and practical ideas for shaping a different economy that was hinged on understanding the world as a “pluriverse” rather than a “universe.” It inspired me to look at alternative socio-economic principles and strive to understand how local sensibilities can be integrated into the mainstream framework for a more just and prosperous social order.”
~ Sakshi, RE India Network
Video
Rent Control in Mumbai by Marginal Revolution University
“I was preparing for my Master’s exams and doing a lot of self-learning, so when I came across this video it really made me question the concepts in the books I was reading. I tried to make peace with the fact that that difference would persist, but I could now look for similar resources out there.”
~ Amrita, RE India Network
Book
Economy Studies — A Guide to Rethinking Economics Education by Sam de Muijnck and Joris Tieleman
“Best for educators and students, it addresses a lot of the problems with Economics education and suggests solutions to them on three core principles: pluralism, real-world and values.”
~ Sam, RE The Uploaders (Nigeria)
Book
Small Is Beautiful: A Study of Economics as if People Matters by Ernst F. Schumacher
“This book inspired me to reconsider the economic principles that shape modern capitalist society. First published in 1973, it is still relevant and speaks powerfully to a society driven by greed and exploitation. It calls into question the development model that prioritizes goods over people. According to Schumacher, we don’t have a concept of ‘enough’. We don’t hear the rich saying, “This is enough!!” whereas the poor have too little. Further, he criticizes big economy ideals that are becoming increasingly unsustainable and advocates for more sustainable small economies. I think this is a must-read book for everyone.”
~ Apilang, RE India Network
Talk
Why Turn Towards Heterodox Economics? by Carolina Alves
“My foremost dissatisfaction with economics, when I was taught the subject in my UG, was that it seemed to ignore all things social or contextual and honed in on only the rational individual who is to make the most perfect choices according to a predefined and fixed set of preferences regardless of time, place, social standing, etc. This changed upon watching this video. It was one of the first resources I had come across after joining the Rethinking Economics India Network, and it was accessible and digestible. It blew my mind open to the possibilities of an economics that is more in tune with reality and can be utilised/understood by everybody. By situating power relations and going beyond the market, this video not only brought forth in me a renewed interest in economics but also made me appreciate and get interested in scholars and centres I had no idea about earlier. This, in turn, has spawned numerous other academic and nonknowledge based adventures! The resource not only provided me with another layer to view the world, but has added depth to my perception of it, and an understanding that economics is of paramount concern, to and for everybody, and to the possibility of the modes of production centred away from the market.”
~ Yash, RE India Network
Economist
“Being exposed to her work (including articles, papers, interviews and lectures) gave me an understanding of the shortcomings of mainstream economics and its failure to incorporate the intersectionalities of social constructs such as gender, caste, class, and race.”
~ Yashaswi, RE India Network
This blog is curated by Lintha Saleem. Lintha is a volunteer with the Project Resources team at the Rethinking Economics India Network. She looks at the curation and dissemination side of the project. Lintha is currently studying for her Masters at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning at the Jawaharlal Nehru University.
