Towards a New Paradigm in Economics: Market Humanism

Economic paradigms change.  The 20th century alone saw four major governing paradigms:

• classical liberalism
• Marxist socialism
• Keynesian social democracy, and neoliberalism.

Each ended in crisis.  Since the collapse of neoliberalism following the 2008 crisis, there has been much discussion about whether a post-neoliberal paradigm will emerge and what it might look like.  This talk will present a framework for understanding and analysing economic paradigms in general, and then discuss how ideas emerging from a large community of researchers in philosophy, the behavioral sciences, economics, political economy, political science, sociology, and a variety of other fields, could contribute to construction of a new governing paradigm.  

Beinhocker and his co-author Nick Hanauer call this emerging paradigm “Market Humanism”, reflecting the core idea that market economies need to be re-oriented to serving human wellbeing in its fullest sense.  Beinhocker will discuss the policy and political implications of Market Humanism, how it might provide a politically attractive alternative to the populist economic nationalism that has filled the current paradigm vacuum, and the process of how paradigm change might occur.

Eric Beinhocker is a professor at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, Executive Director of the Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, and Chairman of the Science Board of the Santa Fe Institute.

**Please note: this event is invitation only and open only to LSE students and faculty.**