| Abstract: |
In social sciences there has been a long debate between the defenders of
institutionalism and those of liberalism. The debate has centered around the
relationship that exists between the individual (agent) and the social
institutions (social structure). In general, liberalism defends that the
individual ́s (agent ́s) preferences, choices, and behavior define the social
institutions (social structure); while institutionalism argues that the social
institutions define the individual ́s preferences, choices, and behavior. Some
authors have attempted to solve the debate by proposing a dual feedback loop
between the individual and the social institution, in which both mutually
define each other. But the solution is not as simple as that. In this book, it
is argued that liberalism is fully compatible with institutionalism, although
only by following a pragmatic-scientific conception of both. It is ascertained
that liberalism is an institution, that was born in a particular historical
period of the Western societies. Therefore, since liberalism itself is an
institution, it follows that liberalism is compatible with institutionalism.
It is argued in here that although it is in general true that institutionalism
defends that individual preferences, choices, and behaviors are defined by
social institutions; once the society grants the individuals political and
economic freedom, these individual preferences, choices, and behaviors become
critical in defining the dynamics of the institutional arrangement in question
– as liberalism has pointed out. |
| Keywords: |
institutionalism, liberalism, individual, social institutions, social structure, preferences, choices, behavior, Western societies, society, political, politics, economic |