Analyse & Kritik

Journal of Philosophy and Social Theory

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"Dennis C. Mueller"

Titel: Constitutional and Liberal Rights
Autor: Dennis C. Mueller
Seite: 96-117

Abstract: Amartya Sen has demonstrated a possible inconsistency between a (liberal) right and Pareto optimality. Neither Sen nor the subsequent literature have discussed the origin of the rights that lead to the liberal paradox. In this article I examine one possible origin of rights definitions - a constitutional contract agreed to by all members of the community. Constitutional rights are show to be vulnerable to a similar paradox as with liberal rights, but if the writers of the constitution were correct in their choice of actions to protect, such paradoxes will be unlikely and involve small welfare losses when they do occur. The article demonstrates that both the origin of rights and their potential role in advancing the interests of citizens can be explained using a utilitarian/welfarist methodology.

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Titel: On the Foundations of Social Science Research
Autor: Dennis C. Mueller
Seite: 195-220

Abstract: Is it possible that all of the social sciences could employ a common methodology? If so, what would it be? This article adresses these questions. It takes off from James Coleman's recent book, The Foundations of Social Theory. Coleman's social theory is built on the postulate that individuals are rational actors, the same postulate that most of modern economics is built upon. This article critiques the use of this postulate in economics, and thus questions whether it is a useful building block for the methodological foundations of social science research. It proposes an adaptive view of human behavior as an alternative in which preferences are conditioned by past experience. The work of Joseph Schumpeter is discussed as an exemplar of the methodology advocated here.

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James S. Coleman's "Foundations of Social Theory" I
1992 (14) Heft 2

Editorial
James S. Colemans "Foundations of Social Theory" werden in ihrer Bedeutung für die Sozialwissenschaften von manchen mit Talcott Parsons' "Structure of Social Action" verglichen. Während jedoch Parsons mit seiner ,voluntaristischen Handlungstheorie, ein neues Paradigma für die Soziologie begründen wollte, stützt sich Coleman auf die ökonomische Theorie rationalen Handelns, die auch in der Soziologie bereits eine Forschungstradition hat. Anstatt eine grundsätzliche Neuerung in die Wege zu l...

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