Principles of Economic Sociology

by Richard Swedberg

The last fifteen years have witnessed an explosion in the popularity, creativity, and productiveness of economic sociology, an approach that traces its roots back to Max Weber. This important new text offers a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of economic sociology. It also advances the field theoretically by highlighting, in one analysis, the crucial economic roles of both interests and social relations.


Richard Swedberg describes the field's critical insights into economic life, giving particular attention to the effects of culture on economic phenomena and the ways that economic actions are embedded in social structures. He examines the full range of economic institutions and explicates the relationship of the economy to politics, law, culture, and gender. Swedberg notes that sociologists too often fail to properly emphasize the role that self-interested behavior plays in economic decisions, while economists frequently underestimate the importance of social relations. Thus, he argues that the next major task for economic sociology is to develop a theoretical and empirical understanding of how interests and social relations work in combination to affect economic action. Written by an author whose name is synonymous with economic sociology, this text constitutes a sorely needed advanced synthesis--and a blueprint for the future of this burgeoning field.

Genres: Sociology, Economics, Nonfiction

384 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2003

Reviews

[Meen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally: I was right! Economic sociology is about putting social relations into economic analysis. Modern economics posits rational self-interest as the answer to everything, and what a fucking mess that has made! I <3 sociology! This book was a fairly dry, broad overview of the (potential) subdiscipline. One little thing that the author did that means so much to me when males authors do it, so I have to give him props for it, is using the female pronoun throughout the text. I so admire feminist men! Yay, Swedberg! And I found many other books and articles to follow up on, especially some Bourdieu books I hadn't even heard about! WTF?

Initially: I am done with school. I am reading this book for my own enjoyment. That's how big a sociology nerd I am. I'm on the verge of a "squee" (if I did that sort of thing) right now just looking at the table of contents.

But seriously, I am pretty far to the left politically, and I never feel like I have enough economic knowledge to argue with laissez-faire economic conservatives. Sure there are plenty of moral/ethical arguments to be made against an unrestrained free market, but I want evidence and facts to back them up. As with any social science, of course, there are no unambiguous truths in economics, and the human factor can't be overlooked, which I trust is what sociology brings to this subject.

[• Domeniko • · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25

[Mohammed Saleh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great effort!

[Noelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book argues for a sociological concept of interest for economic sociology. It has a handy discussion of some of the classics of political economy (Smith, Marx, Tocqueville, Weber), and a nice bibliography for anyone interested in economic culture.

[Arya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book should be read by those wanting to know what economic sociology is all about.