Russian Political Economy from Utopia to Social Engineering: An Introduction

Abstract

Utopias [are to be] set alongside the constructions of engineers, and one might with full justice call them constructions of social engineers…Utopias were relegated to the history of economic theory, whereas they belong to the theory itself, just as the construction of new bridges and aeroplanes belong into the theory of civil or mechanical engineering. (Otto Neurath, 1919, 150-152) In September 2009, the editors of this special issue organized at Lausanne University a Workshop on the History...