Fiscal Sociology and Veblen’s Critique of Capitalism: Insights for Social Economics and the 2008 Crisis

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to review fiscal sociology and Veblen’s critique of capitalism with an eye to developing new insights for social economics and the 2008 crisis. The paper adopts an interdisciplinary approach that blends history, political economy, politics, sociology, social philosophy, and ethics. The article demonstrates how old and new strands of fiscal sociology and Veblen’s economic sociology can be employed to develop a comprehensive understanding of history, present conditions and future of neoliberalism as well as its current crisis. The paper concludes that fiscal sociology and Veblen’s sociological and critical institutional economics have the great potential to develop new insights into critical social economics and the fiscal crisis of the state.