Introduction

This chapter discusses on the meaning, role, and theory of the state, written by institutional economists of a distinctly radical persuasion. The late Allan Gruchy described three different approaches adopted by institutional economists: the miscellaneous or topical approach, the thematic approach, and the paradigmatic approach. Institutionalism grows out of American pragmatism and defines the purpose of inquiry as finding solutions to problems. Problems are defined in the Deweyian sense as a difference between the way things are and the way they ought to be. As such, social inquiry is both contextual and explicitly value-driven. If human behavior is cultural, including the behavior associated with knowledge seeking, then the pursuit of knowledge is a cultural process. While there is a real, existent economy, all bodies of social thought are cultural ways in which this behavior is organized and understood. Knowledge is created, not discovered.