Overview
- Presents a notable survey of how economists have used the concept of power in their theorising since the mid-19th century
- Offers a pluralistic vision of economists’ ideas about power from theoretical, political, social and policy-making points of view
- Of interest to wider disciplines including political science, sociology and philosophy
Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in the History of Economic Thought (PHET)
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About this book
This book offers a pluralistic vision of the way economists have dealt with the question of power in society over the last two centuries. Economists’ ideas about power are examined from political, theoretical and policy-making points of view, with additional discussion of the active participation of economists in the management of power.
The book is organized into four main conceptions of power relations: i) Power as embedded in political institutions; ii) Power as emerging from the asymmetric relations caused by the unequal distribution of income and wealth; iii) Power as associated to the monopolistic or oligopolistic position held by some firms in the market; and iv) Power as the management of economic policies by the state.
Mosca brings together contributions from a range of scholars to analyse how economists have considered the role of power, putting the discussion into a much needed historical context.
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Keywords
- History of political thought
- Economic Theory
- Economic Policy
- Policy makers
- Political power
- Social control
- Cultural history
- Economic Sociology
- Power and Economic Thought
- Management of power
- Authoritarian power and the market
- Antitrust policy
- Capitalism and power
- Leviathan economics
- Adam Smith economics
- Paretian tradition
- Keynesian economics
Table of contents (13 chapters)
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The Republic and the Sovereign: Economists on Political Power
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The Asymmetries of Power: Income, Wealth and Social Control
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Market Power and Institutions in Theory and Policy
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Managing Power: Economists as Policy Makers
Editors and Affiliations
About the editor
Manuela Mosca is Professor of History of Economic Thought in the Department of Economics, University of Salento, Italy and Visiting Professor at the University of Bologna, Italy. She is a member of the International Advisory Board of the European Journal of the History of Economic Thought and of the Editorial Board of History of Economic Theory and Policy. Her main research interests are the history of the theory of monopoly power and marginalism in Italy.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Power in Economic Thought
Editors: Manuela Mosca
Series Title: Palgrave Studies in the History of Economic Thought
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94039-7
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Economics and Finance, Economics and Finance (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-94038-0Published: 26 October 2018
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-06780-9Published: 21 December 2018
eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-94039-7Published: 17 October 2018
Series ISSN: 2662-6578
Series E-ISSN: 2662-6586
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XI, 393
Number of Illustrations: 4 b/w illustrations
Topics: History of Economic Thought/Methodology, Institutional/Evolutionary Economics, Economic History, Industrial Organization, Development Economics, Cultural Economics