The pluralism in economics movement is a campaign to eliminate monism in economics. The movement's adherents have stated that substantive and methodological monism currently dominates mainstream economics.
In the past, economics had greater scientific pluralism, according to Dalen.[1] The underlying methodology of economic studies is monist, according to one statement.[2][3] A confederation for pluralism has encouraged the inclusion of a wide variety of neoclassical and heterodox economic theories - including Austrian, feminist, Marxian, institutional, social, and evolutionary economics, stating that "each tradition of thought adds something unique and valuable to economic scholarship."[4]
The current movement for pluralism arose in the 1990s. In 1992, a petition was published as a paid advertisement in the American Economic Review. This petition described itself as a "plea for a pluralistic and rigorous economics". Many critics of mainstream economics began to describe themselves as proponents of pluralism; they formed groups or organizations such as The International Confederation of Associations for Reform in Economics (ICARE).[5] Later, French students announced a "post-autistic economics" movement. A "rebellion" of students at the École Normale Supérieure happened in 2000.[6]
However, not all critics of mainstream economics favored pluralistic practice, often calling for "reform" instead-which prompted many pluralist organizations to distance themselves instead. For example, ICARE became ICAPE - replacing the R ("reform") with P ("pluralism") in their name, stating that "'reform' ... does not properly characterize the nature or purpose of our organization..."[5]
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Some of the groups dedicated to the movement for pluralism in economics are: