ABSTRACT
The central idea of analytical science is that the whole equals the sum of its parts. This reductionist view was challenged by computational uncertainty in classical mechanics and by the systems approach in biology and thermodynamics. The interdisciplinary science of complex systems shed new light on nonlinear dynamics and non-equilibrium evolution. There are three lines of thinking in studying economic complexity. The first school focuses on computational uncertainty, including deterministic chaos and disequilibrium statistical distributions. The Santa Fe school and econophysics consider economies as a fragile order at the edge of chaos. The second school developed the systems approach of self-organisation and dissipative structure. The Brussels-Austin-Shanghai school pioneered by Ilya Prigogine emphasised the role of time’s arrow in living systems. Order out of chaos reveals a new kind of viable order, such as life cycle and economic resilience. The third school was more pluralistic and inclusive in economic thinking. Some essential features of psychology, behaviour and culture could be modelled by advanced mathematics. Basic doctrines in neoclassical economics are inconsistent with basic laws in physics and biology. Complexity economics may accomplish the dream of Keynes. A general economic theory is capable of integrating special cases from diversified economic thoughts.
