THE DEVELOPMENT OF ECONOMIC IDEAS

The underlying hypothesis in this paper is that there are two fundamental views of the world in which Economists operate: the participatory and the observational. A consequence of these different views is in the extent to which the world can be understood and controlled. Economics was created in a period where the scientific (observational) view was in the ascendant and has benefitted and suffered because of it. The paper examines Economic thinking in this context and illustrates by apposite examples that although there has been a move by Economists to move from a rigorous mathematical straitjacket, not enough has been done. The paper suggests that the future of Economics depends on maintaining a continuous and necessary interchange between the two views. The basic premise underlying this paper is that we experience a physical presence- we are 'embodied minds.' This creates a worldview (the Soft Systems Methodology uses the word 'weltanschauung ') that is subjective and experiential.