Methodological subjectivism and the interpretive approach in political economy

Abstract

Stemming from dissatisfaction with neoclassical methodology, heterodox economists have called for an alternative approach to explain human behaviour. This paper argues for the importance of understanding the role of human agency in political economy. It attempts to integrate the subjectivist method in political economy and the interpretive approach in sociology to construct a new framework to understand human action and social phenomena. This paper concludes with a formulation of a subjective interpretive framework by integrating Austrian subjectivism, interpretive sociology and phenomenology to arrive at a fruitful theory of human action.