Comment on 'postmodernism and institutionalism.' (response to Roland Hoksbergen, 'Journal of Economic Issues,' vol. 28, no. 3, p. 679)
Journal of Economic Issues › Vol. 32 Nbr. 3, September 1998
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Summary
The proposition regarding the relativity of belief systems espoused by postmodernist and institutional cultures is perfectly logical. As a consequence, people are forced to choose from among these belief systems. While it is possible to pick certain elements from other cultural views, it is still necessary for a person to have one dominant way of thinking if only to have an inner consistency comprehensible to oneself and the people one interacts with.
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Comment on 'postmodernism and institutionalism.' (response to Roland Hoksbergen, 'Journal of Economic Issues,' vol. 28, no. 3, p. 679)
In this comment, I do two things: First, make some points of perspective (not correction); and second, extend the analysis Hoksbergen [1994] conducted. Both should help to moderate the tensions he has identified and to contribute to the resolution, insofar as such a thing can evolve, of the debate on relativism (I will not distinguish here among cultural, moral, epistemological, and ontological relativism). Because this is only a comment, complexities and subtleties will generally have to be ignored, and I will refer only to my own elaborative work.
Some Points of Perspective The entire discussion must be understood to include not only the (antinomian) problem of philosophical relativism, but also those of philosophical realism, pragmatism/instrumentalism, existentialism, and nihilism. I make this point not to insist on the positions I have taken [for example, Samuels 1993], but to indicate both that the conversation is more complicated than an argument about relativism and that it will be more informative if all of the deep issues on which people have taken positions are brought to the surface. (Surely my saying this will not be taken to imply that Hoksbergen should or could have covered all these matters in his article.) Second, from my perspective, a critical theme is the social construction of reality, and in two senses: the actual creation of social systems and the attribution of meaning theret...See the full content of this document
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