Liberating Economics From Ideologies and Dystopia

George Kararach, Visiting Professor in Practice, Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa, The London School of Economics and Political Science, UK and Lead Economist, African Development Bank Group, Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire

• ContentsIntroduction to Liberating Economics from Ideologies and Dystopia 1PART I ECONOMICS’ DOMINANCE IN SOCIAL SCIENCEAND ITS SOCIETAL IMPACT 171 Economics, the hegemony of the social science and society 182 Neoliberal economics and the consumer promise: thewelfarist individual 323 Unemployment: the failed promise for jobs 424 Education, skills and upward immobility: the limits in self-actualisation 525 Health: the false promise for longevity and well-being 626 Climate change, resource depletion and the limits of nature 757 On the incentives and rewards: motivation and economicactivity 888 Inclusion and marginalisation: economics on socialinequalities and minorities 989 Trade and the promise of global welfare: economics andnationalist gimmicks 10510 Aid and the failure of multilateral cooperation: greed as goodintention 11511 Modern economics and the failure of development 123PART II ALTERNATIVE PROPOSITIONS AND THEHUMANE ECONOMYIntroduction to Part II 14412 Economics, society and ethics in a humane context 14913 Rethinking economic theory, political economy, and the newsocial contract 16214 Disruptions and the new promise of reconfigured economy 17715 Governance, economics and the prosperous society 19116 On methods, history and reimagining the future of humanity 200PART III POLICY CONSIDERATIONS AND THE CONTRASTOF CONTESTATIONSIntroduction to Part III 21417 Macroeconomic policy and the importance of (in)stability 21918 Markets, the state and the efficacy of competition policy 23819 Labour market policies and the productive life 25720 Institutions, regulatory regimes and policy 27321 Growth and sustainable development policy 28422 On industrial policy and economic renewal 30023 Social policy and the humane economy 314References

‘At a time of deep doubt about economic orthodoxies, this is a powerful call to reclaim economics as a moral and institutional discipline—one grounded in justice, not dogma, and attuned to the lived realities of a fractured world.’