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The Convoluted Sustainability of the Neoclassical Discourse

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The Sustainable Development Theory: A Critical Approach, Volume 1

Abstract

The text argues that the mathematical coldness of the marginalist theory does not resonate with the requirements of Our Common Future. The universal Mengerian menu is incompatible with the diversity of human preferences and at odds with the priorities of the poor. In the area of Applied economics, the text argues that the neoclassicists grow up. It is here that they outline the shape of the future welfare state. A thoughtful state engaged in permanent redistribution acts as its locomotive. Yet, the landscape is not devoid of chimaeras. The market lacking private property and the benefits of socialist nationalizations are just two examples. The beginning of externality analysis and the concern for cities as living spaces represent strong points of the neoclassical endeavour.

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Pohoaţă, I., Diaconaşu, D.E., Crupenschi, V.M. (2020). The Convoluted Sustainability of the Neoclassical Discourse. In: The Sustainable Development Theory: A Critical Approach, Volume 1. Palgrave Studies in Sustainability, Environment and Macroeconomics. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54847-6_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54847-6_5

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