Paradigms and Pluralism in Heterodox Economics

This paper seeks to reconcile two competing visions of heterodox economics: a radical Kuhnian view in which the chief aim of heterodox economists is to construct a unique, superior, and ultimately hegemonic paradigm to replace the prevailing paradigm(s) of mainstream economics, and an emerging pluralist view in which the principal goal of heterodox economics is to promote intellectual tolerance and exchange among academic economists at large. The author claims that leading heterodox economists (some of whom profess to be pluralists) remain committed to the paradigmist approach, but that heterodox economists would be better served by a freedom-centered synthesis of paradigmism and pluralism: an egalitarian pluralism that is committed to intellectual diversity as well as to capabilities-enhancing reforms in economic education, scholarship, and professional development. The author outlines a philosophical framework and justification for this egalitarian pluralist economics, combining McCloskey's vision of science as a pluralistic conversation with Sen's capability-centered view of human development.