Under the Cover of Meta-Institutions. Home as a Meta-Institutional Concept

Abstract

In institutional studies, there is still no unified approach to understanding meta-institutions and the criteria for referring to them. The purpose of this work is to establish the methodological legitimacy of using the term "meta-institution" in various sciences (economics, sociology, philosophy, etc.), consider the level of mental models and explore individual examples of meta-institutional concepts. The article presents a critical analysis of the theories of meta-institutions in various foreign and Russian studies, based on an interdisciplinary approach. It is concluded that meta-institutions should not be identified with basic, global, total and macro-institutions. The most adequate interpretation of meta-institutions, which are actually mental models (constructs) in terms of D. North, is the theory of meta-institutional concepts (for example, power, solidarity, exchange, etc.). The habit of thinking and the instinct of idle curiosity, according to T. Veblen, create the basis for the formation and, in fact, are the condition for the possibility of the existence of all institutions and relevant social practices. In conclusion, the authors put forward a hypothesis about the possibility of considering home as a meta-institutional concept. The results and conclusions obtained in the course of this study contribute to the further development of institutional theory and can serve as a basis for the analysis of specific socio-economic institutions and meta-institutional concepts.