Reclaiming Evolution (Hardcover, New)

In this text, the authors engage in a dialogue on social evolution from Institutionalist and Marxist perspectives, each representing one side. It is their intention to explore the way society develops using the equally radical, but very different approaches of Thorstein Veblen and Karl Marx. The dialogue proceeds with a series of questions - each answered from the two perspectives. Beginning with an intellectual history and definition, the book examines social evolution in terms of causal elements including: economic relations; technology; political relations; and social processes; structural change; social tension; and social conflict. It thus provides a guide on how different economic theories can be used as a tool to view society - and the way different standpoints can both compliment and contradict each other. The result should be an accessible study of economic evolution that is intended for students of political economy.