The adventure of criticism

Vol. 28 No. 1 (2008)

Jan-Mar / 2008
Published January 1, 2008
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How to Cite

Paulani, Leda Maria. 2008. “The Adventure of Criticism”. Brazilian Journal of Political Economy 28 (1):166-77. https://centrodeeconomiapolitica.org.br/repojs/index.php/journal/article/view/520.

The adventure of criticism

Leda Maria Paulani
Profa. Titular do Departamento de Economia da FEA/USP, Presidente da Sociedade Brasileira de Economia Política (SEP)
Brazilian Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 28 No. 1 (2008), Jan-Mar / 2008, Pages 166-177

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to reply the critical observations made by Fernandes, Rego and Gala in this number of Revista de Economia Política about a paper of mine, also published in this same journal in January 2006, which deals with the relationship between Economics and Rethoric and its unfolding in Brazil. Answering these critical observations I have tried to show that: a) it is not easy, as they do, to associate Habermas’s project to the defense of the approach of Rethoric in Economics; Habermas himself has a lot of objections to the association of his project with Rorty’s pragmatism which seems to be the strongest McCloskey’s influence; b) it is not true that my considerations have a kind of epistemological immunity and that they are not liable to contestations; if it seems so it is because the nature of the materialistic approach itself. At the end I observe that my carpers didn’t reply my observations about the unfolding of the rethorical project in Brazil and that this is, at some measure, surprising, because they are central personages in it.

JEL Classification: B 41.


Keywords: Modernity Rethoric of Economics Habermas project Marx materialist approach