Society

, Volume 47, Issue 3, pp 200–206 | Cite as

The Social Construction of the Market

Symposium: Peter Berger’s Achievement in Social Science
First Online:

Abstract

Although Berger and Luckmann do not specifically discuss the market, they would undoubtedly agree that the market is socially constructed. Indeed, the market is a product of social action that has an objective and subjective reality. Inspired by Berger and Luckmann’s work, this paper will describe the social construction of the market. Specifically, it will focus on the Austrian understanding of the market. It is my contention that the Austrians have articulated a “sociology of the market” that is consistent with Berger and Luckmann’s approach.

Keywords

Berger Social construction Markets Austrian economics 
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Notes

Acknowledgements

This article was prepared for The Fund for the Study of Spontaneous Orders at Atlas Economic Research Foundation Conference in honor of its fourth Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Professor Peter Berger (September 2009). I am grateful to Don Lavoie, Peter Berger, Peter Boettke and Paul Lewis for useful discussions on this topic and/or comments on earlier versions of this paper. The standard disclaimer applies.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2010

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Mercatus CenterGeorge Mason UniversityArlingtonUSA

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