Sheila Dow as historian of economic thought: the Scottish political economy tradition

McMaster, R. (2022) Sheila Dow as historian of economic thought: the Scottish political economy tradition. In: Negru, I. and Hawkins, P. (eds.) Economic Methodology, History and Pluralism: Expanding Economic Thought to Meet Contemporary Challenges. Routledge: London and New York, pp. 167-184. ISBN 9780367695675 (doi: 10.4324/9781003142324-12)

Abstract

Sheila Dow has made substantive and sustained contributions to Post Keynesian thinking, the methodology of economics, and the history of economic thought. This chapter focuses on the latter, and in particular Dow’s engagement with the Scottish political economy tradition. Together with colleagues and her husband, Alistair, Dow has done much to explore and reveal the nature and on-going relevance of this tradition. It is an important influence on Dow’s thinking in macroeconomics and economic methods. Indeed, Dow’s approach is the modern embodiment of this tradition. Scottish political economy may be traced to Enlightenment thought, which in Scotland revolved around four strands: natural law philosophy; an historical approach to analysis; “common-sense” philosophy, and “moderate” scepticism. For Dow, Scottish political economy reflects these elements through its emphasis on, for example, history, fallibilism, and an understanding of individuals as social beings. I argue that Dow does much to reinvigorate this tradition and its relevance. In doing so, however, she overlooks an emphasis on social provisioning in the tradition. For instance, Steuart and Smith identify provisioning as a key element of economic activity, which establishes a hierarchy of goods. This serves as a basis of challenge to modern standard economics’ moral equivalence of goods. Acknowledging social provisioning strengthens Dow’s argument about the continuing relevance of Scottish political economy.

• Item Type: Book Sections
• Status: Published
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: McMaster, Professor Robert
• Authors: McMaster, R.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > Adam Smith Business School
• Publisher: Routledge
• ISBN: 9780367695675
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2022 Routledge
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher

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