There Is No (Legal) Alternative

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to further explore the nature of ‘crisis’, and how the incorporation of an economic ideology as ‘solution’ to that crisis in the form of legally binding obligations restricts the ability to pursue alternative courses of action, creating tensions within society. Focusing upon economic doctrine as reflecting ideological positions, the authors consider the way in which the framing of events as ‘crises’, and thereby establishing them as threats to the current political and economic system, enables political actors to facilitate changes that may not otherwise be politically feasible. In particular, by responding to a crisis through the creation of laws that codify an ideologically guided economic doctrine, a temporary state of crisis creates a permanent legal set of obligations. The authors draw from a social constructivist perspective, highlighting the importance of ideas as a means of interpreting events, and combining analysis of structural economic changes with the role of actors in creating framing narratives surrounding such changes. The proposed thesis holds that while structural changes are analytically observable, there is no single true narrative of social reality, but instead competing and contestable truth claims about the social or political origins of events and their consequences. It also expands upon how economic theories reflect ideologically oriented perceptions of the truth of our social and economic world. This theoretical hybrid is effective in describing the complex variety of factors contributing to the understanding of how events can be framed so as to make specific policy choices legally binding – while there may be alternative policy options, there is no legal alternative.