Solidarity can be conceived in multiple ways. This article probes possible underlying ontological and normative assumptions of solidarity. In order to conceptually clarify the notion of solidarity, we distinguish between five types of solidarity. We suggest that solidarity is either grounded in the Enlightenment ideas of liberty, or a category of loyalty and allegiance. If the former is the case, solidarity can be justified on rational grounds. If the latter is the case, it is contingent on narratives of historical continuity (...) and a non-rational sense of belonging. Moreover, we show that different types of solidarity can be derived from Anglo-Saxon and continental thought, which hints at different conceptions of community. (shrink)

ArgumentIn this paper we comparatively explore three claims concerning the disciplinary character of economics by means of citation analysis. The three claims under study are: economics exhibits strong forms of institutional stratification and, as a byproduct, a rather pronounced internal hierarchy; economists strongly conform to institutional incentives; and modern mainstream economics is a largely self-referential intellectual project mostly inaccessible to disciplinary or paradigmatic outsiders. The validity of these claims is assessed by means of an interdisciplinary comparison of citation patterns aiming (...) to identify peculiar characteristics of economic discourse. In doing so, we emphasize that citation data can always be interpreted in different ways, thereby focusing on the contrast between a “cognitive” and an “evaluative” approach towards citation data. (shrink)

Der Philosoph und Ökonom Hans Albert artikulierte in den 60er und 70er Jahren des 20. Jahrhunderts unter dem Titel des «Modell-Platonismus» eine weitreichende Kritik an dem in der Ökonomie vorherrschenden Modelldenken. In diesem Kontext demonstriert diese Arbeit die anhaltende Relevanz dieser Kritik an der neoklassischen Ökonomie. Darüber hinaus wird diese an entscheidenden Stellen erweitert und ergänzt: So werden die spezifischen Kritikpunkte Alberts auf allgemeine Strukturprinzipien neoklassischer Theorie zurückgeführt, die eine Immunisierung gegenüber Kritik systematisch forcieren. Ergänzung findet diese Auseinandersetzung, die Struktur (...) und Aufbau neoklassischer Modelle aus einer philosophischen Perspektive analysiert, durch eine kritische Reflexion institutioneller Abläufe und empirischer Praktiken ökonomischer Forschung. (shrink)