Economics and Utopia
Economics and Utopia
Why the Learning Economy is Not the End of History
Published 1999 by Routledge
Warren Samuels (University of Michigan), New Political Economy, November 1999:
“Geoff Hodgson’s Economics and Utopia is a deeply penetrating, extraordinarily wide ranging and judicious interpretation of the predicament of both the present-day Western economy and economics. In my view, Hodgson’s diagnosis and combination of prescription and prediction are substantially correct. … this may be Hodgson’s finest work to date. It is certainly one of the most powerful works of institutional analysis, political economy, utopianist theory and futurism in many years.”
John F. Henry (California State University, Sacramento), Journal of Economic Issues, September, 2000:
“this is an important work that needs to be examined critically, debated and developed. … Much of the argument in Economics and Utopia is compelling …”
Steven Fleetwood (Lancaster University Management School), The Manchester School, September 2000:
“The essential strength of Hodgson’s book, however, is its boldness. It unhesitatingly engages with mainstream, Austrian and Marxist economic theory and is unflinchingly iconoclastic. It openly considers, not only that capitalism is in the throes of quite fundamental change, but also that recent developments might be preparing the ground for a utopian future just at the point when the ‘end of history’ thesis has become conventional wisdom.”
Nicholai Foss (Copenhagen Business School), Journal of Economic Literature, December 2000:
“In a highly intelligent way, this book adds substance to a number of contemporary and so far rather undisciplined discussions of ‘the learning economy,’ ‘the information society,’ and the like, providing a unique perspective that borrows from, in particular, Veblen and Hayek. …Hodgson is to be congratulated for the depth of the scholarship demonstrated in this book, and the rigor with which he adds substance to a very fuzzy discussion. … The history of economics and the history of utopianism are closely woven together. Geoff Hodgson has provided an impressive lead toward a more rigorous and modest type of utopian discourse.’
Richard Hull (Brunel University), Economy and Society, May 2001:
“The depth and breadth of scholarship exhibited in this book, as in Hodgson’s other works, is impressive … It is clearly a very important starting point for future discussions of ‘the knowledge economy’ and ‘the learning econonomy’ … The attempt to revive the validity of utopianism should also be admired …”
Richard R. Nelson (Columbia University), Review of Social Economy, March 2002:
“This is a wonderfully stimulating and powerful book. I continue to be impressed by how effectively Hodgson can draw material from the history of economic and social thought to raise issues and make points highly relevant to contemporary discussion and analysis.”
Mark Setterfield (Trinity College, Connecticut), Review of Political Economy, 14(3), 2002:
“An undoubted strength of this volume is its reclamation of the notion of a utopia … from the rubble of recent dystopias that have given any sort of idealization a bad name. As Hodgson reminds us, rejecting prescription can result in a debilitating fatalism that decries any debate about socioeconomic outcomes as unwise and undesirable. … Hodgson is explicit about the incompleteness of OIE as a vehicle for economic theorizing … Even these lacunae ultimately serve to illustrate the formidable scope of this book, and its success in engaging the reader on a variety of different levels. Above all Economics and Utopia serves as a timely reminder that, as evolving social constructs, economies are continually reproduced or transformed as a result of discretionary choices and deliberate actions.”
“Geoff Hodgson’s Economics and Utopia is a deeply penetrating, extraordinarily wide ranging and judicious interpretation of the predicament of both the present-day Western economy and economics. In my view, Hodgson’s diagnosis and combination of prescription and prediction are substantially correct. … this may be Hodgson’s finest work to date. It is certainly one of the most powerful works of institutional analysis, political economy, utopianist theory and futurism in many years.”
John F. Henry (California State University, Sacramento), Journal of Economic Issues, September, 2000:
“this is an important work that needs to be examined critically, debated and developed. … Much of the argument in Economics and Utopia is compelling …”
Steven Fleetwood (Lancaster University Management School), The Manchester School, September 2000:
“The essential strength of Hodgson’s book, however, is its boldness. It unhesitatingly engages with mainstream, Austrian and Marxist economic theory and is unflinchingly iconoclastic. It openly considers, not only that capitalism is in the throes of quite fundamental change, but also that recent developments might be preparing the ground for a utopian future just at the point when the ‘end of history’ thesis has become conventional wisdom.”
Nicholai Foss (Copenhagen Business School), Journal of Economic Literature, December 2000:
“In a highly intelligent way, this book adds substance to a number of contemporary and so far rather undisciplined discussions of ‘the learning economy,’ ‘the information society,’ and the like, providing a unique perspective that borrows from, in particular, Veblen and Hayek. …Hodgson is to be congratulated for the depth of the scholarship demonstrated in this book, and the rigor with which he adds substance to a very fuzzy discussion. … The history of economics and the history of utopianism are closely woven together. Geoff Hodgson has provided an impressive lead toward a more rigorous and modest type of utopian discourse.’
Richard Hull (Brunel University), Economy and Society, May 2001:
“The depth and breadth of scholarship exhibited in this book, as in Hodgson’s other works, is impressive … It is clearly a very important starting point for future discussions of ‘the knowledge economy’ and ‘the learning econonomy’ … The attempt to revive the validity of utopianism should also be admired …”
Richard R. Nelson (Columbia University), Review of Social Economy, March 2002:
“This is a wonderfully stimulating and powerful book. I continue to be impressed by how effectively Hodgson can draw material from the history of economic and social thought to raise issues and make points highly relevant to contemporary discussion and analysis.”
Mark Setterfield (Trinity College, Connecticut), Review of Political Economy, 14(3), 2002:
“An undoubted strength of this volume is its reclamation of the notion of a utopia … from the rubble of recent dystopias that have given any sort of idealization a bad name. As Hodgson reminds us, rejecting prescription can result in a debilitating fatalism that decries any debate about socioeconomic outcomes as unwise and undesirable. … Hodgson is explicit about the incompleteness of OIE as a vehicle for economic theorizing … Even these lacunae ultimately serve to illustrate the formidable scope of this book, and its success in engaging the reader on a variety of different levels. Above all Economics and Utopia serves as a timely reminder that, as evolving social constructs, economies are continually reproduced or transformed as a result of discretionary choices and deliberate actions.”