‘Commerce and manufactures gradually introduced order and good government,’ wrote Adam Smith in his Wealth of Nations, ‘and with them, the liberty and security of individuals.’ However, Philipp Rössner shows how, when looked at in the face of history, it has usually been the other way around.
This book follows the development of capitalism from the Middle Ages through the industrial revolution to modern day, casting new light on the areas where pre-modern political economies of growth and development made a difference. It shows how order and governance provided the foundation for prosperity, growth and the wealth of nations.
Written for scholars and students of economic history, this is a pioneering new study that debunks the neoliberal origin myth of how capitalism came into the world.
This exciting and innovative book fills a gap in the growing area of discourse analysis within the social sciences. It provides the analytical tools with which students and their teachers can understand the complex and often conflicting discourses across a range of social science disciplines.
Examining the theories of Foucault, Koselleck, Laclau and Luhmann, the book:
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focuses on the political and social aspects of their writing;
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discusses and combines their theories to suggest new analytical strategies for understanding society;
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combines theory with practical illustrations.
A best seller in Denmark, this English edition is vital reading for anyone with an interest in discourse analysis. It will also be invaluable to anyone looking at the analytical works of Foucault, Koselleck, Laclau and Luhmann. Students will find the clear exposition of the theories and strategies supported by an easy-to-digest, easy-to-read layout, which includes summaries and boxed examples highlighting the relevance of analytical strategies to social and policy research.
Social policy scholars and practitioners work with concepts such as “welfare state” and “social security” but where do these concepts come from and how has their meaning changed over time? Which are the dominant social policy concepts and how are they contested? What characterises social policy language in specific countries and regions of the world and how do social concepts travel between countries?
Addressing such questions in a systematic manner for the first time, this edited collection, written by a cross-disciplinary group of leading social policy researchers, analyses the concepts and language used to make sense of contemporary social policy. The volume focuses on OECD countries located on four different continents: Asia, Australasia, Europe, and North America. Combining detailed chapters on particular countries with broader comparative chapters, the book strikes a rare balance between case studies and transnational perspectives. It will be of interest to academics and students in social policy, social work, political science, sociology, history, and public administration, as well as practitioners and policy makers.
Elgar. King, D. and Wickham-Jones, M. (1999) ‘From Clinton to Blair: the democratic (party). Origins of welfare to work,’ Political Quarterly, 70(1): 62-74. Koselleck, R. (1979) ‘Begriffsgeschichte und Sozialgeschichte’, in K. Koselleck, Vergangene Zukunft. Zur Semantik geschichtlicher Zeiten. Frankfurt: Suhrkampf: 107-129. Leonhard, J. (2001) Liberalismus. Zur historischen Semantik eines europäischen Deutungsmusters. München: Oldenbourg Wissenshaftsverlag. Lessenich, S. (ed.) (2003) Wohlfahrtsstaatsliche Grundbegriffe. Historische und Aktuelle Diskurse
lost story and introduce Begriffsgeschichte as a useful concept for a history of dynamics and managing economic change; before Chapter 3 will link Renaissance and early modern cameralist thought to broader practices and possibilities of historical economic development. The present matters also in another regard: the temporalities of capitalism . With his exclamation, Schreber betrayed an attitude characteristic of the enlightened optimism of his age: the vision of an open future horizon – a signature feature of the modern economic condition. 6 By no means
history of political economy and related disciplines such as history of economic and political thought, conceptual history ( Begriffsgeschichte ), and the history of ideas. 41 While the history of political thought has occasionally led to canon-building centred on ‘big’ thinkers of each age, 42 historians of economic thought often zoom in on particular ideas and concepts borrowed from modern economics, looking for their ‘origins’ in deeper time. Schumpeter organized his posthumously published landmark work according to which ideas made sense to him personally; 43
