Sociological dimensions in classical/neoclassical economics: Conceptions of social economics and economic sociology

Abstract

This article posits that traditional economics contains relevant sociological dimensions and that these consist primarily of conceptions and elements of social economics or economic sociology. On this premise, it explores these sociological dimensions in the form of conceptions and elements of social economics and/or economic sociology in classical political economy and neoclassical economics. The article identifies explicit conceptions of social economics such as the proposal for social economy and the idea of economic sociology as well as its implicit versions, including its implications in ‘purest’ economic theory. Alternatively, the article finds no important sociological dimensions in the form of rational choice theory, i.e. the ‘economics of society’, in classical and neoclassical economic science. The article reconsiders economics and sociology in their shared elements or complementary relations as ‘sister’ social sciences.