Competition or Cooperation? A Required Shift in the Metaphysics of Economics

Abstract

Economists often suffer from a kind of metaphysical blindness, assuming that economics is a science of absolute and invariable truths without any presuppositions. Some go as far as to claim that economic laws are as free from metaphysics or values as the laws of physics. Ormerod argues that conventional economics offers a misleading view of how the world actually operates (Ormerod, 1994). The absence of metaphysical questions in mainstream economics has dodged fundamental conflicts among economy, nature, and culture. These conflicts have led to a whole range of negative symptoms, such as climate change and financial crises. Instead of questioning the metaphysical assumptions, mainstream economics is mostly concerned about short-term solutions aimed at reducing the most pressing symptoms. By using increasing doses of the prescribed old medicine, negative symptoms are muted so that the pathological causes remain indistinct.