The Systemic Nature of the Economic Crisis: The Perspectives of Heterodox Economics and Psychoanalysis

The most prominent aspect of the current financial crisis is its systemic character which manifests itself in high levels of inequality, rampant unemployment, economic and social insecurity and environmental decay. This book explores the potential of a pluralistic and interdisciplinary approach for a deeper understanding of the manifold aspects of the economic crisis.

This book examines the potential of a number of contributions from heterodox economics and psychoanalysis in providing a deeper understanding of these problems. The book analyses some of the most debated aspects of the concepts of market, democracy and socialism and explores the role of structural ties between economic, social and psychological aspects of collective life. It also addresses the main economic aspects of the crisis and pays particular attention to a number of structural imbalances, and to the psychological interpretation of these phenomena.

By drawing together approaches from heterodox economics and psychoanalysis, this book adopts a pluralist and interdisciplinary approach to the study of these phenomena and manages to overcome the fragmentation so often present in social sciences.

Arturo Hermann is a Senior Research Fellow at the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), Rome, Italy.