Architectures of Economic Subjectivity: The Philosophical Foundations of the Subject in the History of Economic Thought

This highly sophisticated and original work examines the the philosophical underpinnings of subjectivity through an exploration of the canon of European economic thought. Here, Sonya Scott systematically explores the question of subjectivity in the works of Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Léon Walras, Alfred Marshall, John Maynard Keynes, Ludwig von Mises, and F. A. Hayek. Three primary themes guide this examination of the history of economic thought: 1) The architectonic structure of economic thought; 2) The temporality of economic subjectivity; and 3) The political economist as subject. The book sets out to penetrate the very subjective foundations of economic theory that are still accepted and promulgated in mainstream economics today. Scott argues that non- mainstream approaches such as heterodox economics, social ontology and post-autistic economics, are able to get much closer to the lived experience of economic subjects. The systematic and rigorous exploration of the philosophical underpinnings of subjectivity constitutes a crucial part of this movement away from the contemporary mainstream.