Radical expectations : how the New Left changed economics / Tiago Mata, University College London.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mata, Tiago, Author.

Series:

Historical perspectives on modern economics.

Historical perspectives on modern economics

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Radical economics--History--20th century.

Radical economics.

Economists--History--20th century.

Economists.

New Left--History--20th century.

New Left.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xi, 330 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2026.

Summary:

In the 1970s radical economists campaigned to reform their discipline and their universities. They became journalists and activists, moving beyond academia, to forge new models of public engagement and collaborative knowledge in economic life. Radical Expectations tells the story of how these economists set out to make economics more democratic. It traces their campaign to bring protest movements to the campuses, triggering the emergence of an alternative understanding of expertise directed at validating and empowering the perspectives and voices of women, Black Americans, labor activists, and the urban poor. It shows how a radical identity formed and how radicals helped reform disciplinary institutions. Furthermore, it argues that the radical economics' legacy was the development of a language and models of expert-lay collaboration that empowers direct action in economic affairs. The book is about the community of radical economists who championed the promise of change and what came of it.

Contents:

Acknowledgements

Abbreviations

1. Introduction: Radical Political Economics, Movement of Intellectuals, Popular Economics

Plan of the Book

2. In 1968: Street Fighting, Union for Radical Political Economics, Opposition

3. Radical Vocation: Principles, The Movement, New University

4. Campuses in Struggle: Michigan, Chicago, Harvard

5. A Discipline Divided: Voice or Exit, Reparations, Representation

6. Praising Convention: Opposition, Little Thinkers, The Outsider, A Transformation Problem

7. Studies on Power: Manifestos and Paradigms, The Failure of Liberalism, Putting It Together

8. Surviving in Academia: Under Fire, Academic Freedom, Diaspora

9. Outreach: Political Education, Union Divided, Popular Education

10. Activist Journalism: Socialist Print, Revolutionary Print, Alternative Print

11. Economic Democracy: Supranational Order, Community Development, Wages and Care

12. Conclusion: Protest and Discipline, Political Tests, Radical Expectations

Sources: Archival, Interviews

Bibliography.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 31 Jul 2026).

ISBN:

9781139043984