ABSTRACT
This introductory chapter introduces the need for research into the “economic imaginary” in the general and the particularly Scottish context. It explores the conditions for the discussion of “the economy”, arguing that the concept, contrary to many impressions, is younger than most social scientific concepts and younger than discussions of capitalism. The general condition for imagining economies was the concurrent rise of Keynesianism and national economic statistics. Debates were subsequently transformed by the rise of neoliberal globalisation following the crisis of the 1970s. The case of Scotland presents this wider history in an interesting context. Discussion of Scotland as an economy developed later with the rise of regional policy, but was likewise revolutionised in the 1970s, by the peculiar circumstances of nationalism and North Sea oil. Statistical interest in and commentary on the Scottish economy as an objective entity would interest significantly at the same time as objectively Scottish ownership and control was declining. The chapter thus suggests that the discussion of the Scottish economy has been shaped not just by growing scientific interest, but also by emotional and ideological factors linked to class struggle, (competing) nationalism(s) and discourses of globalisation.
