Professor of philosophy and economics Researcher in social ontology, especially social positioning theory Member Cambridge social ontology group Former co-director Cambridge Centre for Gender Studies Founder member and Trustee of Centre for Critical Realism
Social positioning theory, or an account of the human individual that it grounds, qualifies as a ... more Social positioning theory, or an account of the human individual that it grounds, qualifies as a quantum social theory. This is an assessment that I explain and defend in the paper. It is of interest in that, in a world where increasing numbers are seeking to construct quantum social theories, it serves to help demonstrate that this goal can be achieved without giving up on meeting criteria like explanatory intelligibility or power or discarding real-world notions like human (and other) entities. As it turns out, a central feature of the account defended and a core element of the 'standard' interpretation of quantum mechanics are found to stand in an interesting, unanticipated and suggestive relation to each other.
n account of the nature of human community organising structures has been systemised as social po... more n account of the nature of human community organising structures has been systemised as social positioning theory. Here I explore the sorts of human entities that are able successfully to draw on and make use of community structures of the form portrayed in the theory, focussing especially on the sorts of human community interactions that are facilitated.
The focus of this note is the nature of money and related issues. Its objective is simply to clar... more The focus of this note is the nature of money and related issues. Its objective is simply to clarify the more significant differences on these matters between the conceptions of proponents of modern money theory (MMT) and those of contributors to social positioning theory.
Chapter 8 of The Nature of Social Reality: Issues in social ontology, 2019
Social ontology, and specifically the theory of social positioning, is brought to bear in assessi... more Social ontology, and specifically the theory of social positioning, is brought to bear in assessing the real possibilities for emancipatory social change. From the perspective achieved, traditional sorts of policy orientations are seen to be fundamentally misguided. An alternative orientation to pursuing social change is advanced.
On how to destroy the NHS
“Danger of abuse in the Health Service is always at the point wh... more On how to destroy the NHS
“Danger of abuse in the Health Service is always at the point where private commercialism impinges on the Service; where, for example, the optician is paid for the spectacles he himself prescribes, or the dentist gives an unnecessary filling for which he is paid. Abuse occurs where an attempt is made to marry the incompatible principles of private acquisitiveness with a public service. […] The solution is to decrease the dependence on private enterprise” (Aneurin Bevan, 1952)
“But need there be just one leap [to get rid of the NHS]? Might it not, rather, be possible to work slowly from the present system towards a national insurance scheme? One could begin for example, with the establishment of the NHS as an independent trust, with increased joint ventures between the NHS and the private sector; move on next to the use of ‘credits’ to meet standard charges set by central NHS funding administration for independently managed hospitals or districts; and only at the last stage create a national health scheme separate from the tax system.” (John Redwood, Oliver Letwin, 1988, [Tory MPs])
The theory of social positioning is an account of social constitution in which organising structu... more The theory of social positioning is an account of social constitution in which organising structure is key. A core component of the theory is a conception of the nature of specifically community structure and the manner whereby human beings and other phenomena are organised through it. The primary objective of this paper is simply to systematise the (continuously evolving) theory, and in particular this core component, as it currently stands. The theory has implications for both substantive social analysis and projects of social transformation. In the current paper, it is (mostly) the theory’s usefulness to the former that is highlighted, through the inclusion of an illustration of how the theory contributes to resolving long standing puzzles at the substantive level, and specifically those connected to the theorising of the nature of money.
Cryptocurrencies and the Future of Money, IE Center for the Governance of Change, 2019
Can forms of cryptocurrency become money? To pursue this question, it is necessary first to be cl... more Can forms of cryptocurrency become money? To pursue this question, it is necessary first to be clear on what is meant by money, on what precisely is required for something to be, or to become, money. The concern of this opening chapter is precisely with this issue, to identify conditions that must be met for a form of cryptocurrency to qualify.
Money is positioned bank debt. This is a thesis I have previously defended in this journal. In th... more Money is positioned bank debt. This is a thesis I have previously defended in this journal. In the current paper, I elaborate the thesis and provide further grounding for it, especially in the light of criticism by others. In so doing, I examine how positioned bank debt as money works and how, in one case at least, it originally emerged
I take the opportunity to elaborate and clarify the positioning theory of money in response to th... more I take the opportunity to elaborate and clarify the positioning theory of money in response to the critique of it provided by Geoffrey Ingham.
Research in the History of Economic Thought and Methodology, 2018
The versions of positivism that are critically assessed in Bruce Caldwell’s Beyond Positivism bea... more The versions of positivism that are critically assessed in Bruce Caldwell’s Beyond Positivism bear two dominant sets of implications. One is that knowledge growth is monistic in nature; the other is that science has a specific deductivist structure. Caldwell focuses mainly on the former and its critics. I argue here that the second set of implications always did, and still does, perhaps more than ever, warrant critical attention.
The question of the nature of money is pursued drawing on results generated in the field of socia... more The question of the nature of money is pursued drawing on results generated in the field of social ontology as well as on observations from history. The conception of the nature of money found in this manner to be the most sustainable is compared to various other prominent, if usually held to be mutually incompatible, theories.
Social positioning theory, or an account of the human individual that it grounds, qualifies as a ... more Social positioning theory, or an account of the human individual that it grounds, qualifies as a quantum social theory. This is an assessment that I explain and defend in the paper. It is of interest in that, in a world where increasing numbers are seeking to construct quantum social theories, it serves to help demonstrate that this goal can be achieved without giving up on meeting criteria like explanatory intelligibility or power or discarding real-world notions like human (and other) entities. As it turns out, a central feature of the account defended and a core element of the 'standard' interpretation of quantum mechanics are found to stand in an interesting, unanticipated and suggestive relation to each other.
n account of the nature of human community organising structures has been systemised as social po... more n account of the nature of human community organising structures has been systemised as social positioning theory. Here I explore the sorts of human entities that are able successfully to draw on and make use of community structures of the form portrayed in the theory, focussing especially on the sorts of human community interactions that are facilitated.
The focus of this note is the nature of money and related issues. Its objective is simply to clar... more The focus of this note is the nature of money and related issues. Its objective is simply to clarify the more significant differences on these matters between the conceptions of proponents of modern money theory (MMT) and those of contributors to social positioning theory.
Chapter 8 of The Nature of Social Reality: Issues in social ontology, 2019
Social ontology, and specifically the theory of social positioning, is brought to bear in assessi... more Social ontology, and specifically the theory of social positioning, is brought to bear in assessing the real possibilities for emancipatory social change. From the perspective achieved, traditional sorts of policy orientations are seen to be fundamentally misguided. An alternative orientation to pursuing social change is advanced.
On how to destroy the NHS
“Danger of abuse in the Health Service is always at the point wh... more On how to destroy the NHS
“Danger of abuse in the Health Service is always at the point where private commercialism impinges on the Service; where, for example, the optician is paid for the spectacles he himself prescribes, or the dentist gives an unnecessary filling for which he is paid. Abuse occurs where an attempt is made to marry the incompatible principles of private acquisitiveness with a public service. […] The solution is to decrease the dependence on private enterprise” (Aneurin Bevan, 1952)
“But need there be just one leap [to get rid of the NHS]? Might it not, rather, be possible to work slowly from the present system towards a national insurance scheme? One could begin for example, with the establishment of the NHS as an independent trust, with increased joint ventures between the NHS and the private sector; move on next to the use of ‘credits’ to meet standard charges set by central NHS funding administration for independently managed hospitals or districts; and only at the last stage create a national health scheme separate from the tax system.” (John Redwood, Oliver Letwin, 1988, [Tory MPs])
The theory of social positioning is an account of social constitution in which organising structu... more The theory of social positioning is an account of social constitution in which organising structure is key. A core component of the theory is a conception of the nature of specifically community structure and the manner whereby human beings and other phenomena are organised through it. The primary objective of this paper is simply to systematise the (continuously evolving) theory, and in particular this core component, as it currently stands. The theory has implications for both substantive social analysis and projects of social transformation. In the current paper, it is (mostly) the theory’s usefulness to the former that is highlighted, through the inclusion of an illustration of how the theory contributes to resolving long standing puzzles at the substantive level, and specifically those connected to the theorising of the nature of money.
Cryptocurrencies and the Future of Money, IE Center for the Governance of Change, 2019
Can forms of cryptocurrency become money? To pursue this question, it is necessary first to be cl... more Can forms of cryptocurrency become money? To pursue this question, it is necessary first to be clear on what is meant by money, on what precisely is required for something to be, or to become, money. The concern of this opening chapter is precisely with this issue, to identify conditions that must be met for a form of cryptocurrency to qualify.
Money is positioned bank debt. This is a thesis I have previously defended in this journal. In th... more Money is positioned bank debt. This is a thesis I have previously defended in this journal. In the current paper, I elaborate the thesis and provide further grounding for it, especially in the light of criticism by others. In so doing, I examine how positioned bank debt as money works and how, in one case at least, it originally emerged
I take the opportunity to elaborate and clarify the positioning theory of money in response to th... more I take the opportunity to elaborate and clarify the positioning theory of money in response to the critique of it provided by Geoffrey Ingham.
Research in the History of Economic Thought and Methodology, 2018
The versions of positivism that are critically assessed in Bruce Caldwell’s Beyond Positivism bea... more The versions of positivism that are critically assessed in Bruce Caldwell’s Beyond Positivism bear two dominant sets of implications. One is that knowledge growth is monistic in nature; the other is that science has a specific deductivist structure. Caldwell focuses mainly on the former and its critics. I argue here that the second set of implications always did, and still does, perhaps more than ever, warrant critical attention.
The question of the nature of money is pursued drawing on results generated in the field of socia... more The question of the nature of money is pursued drawing on results generated in the field of social ontology as well as on observations from history. The conception of the nature of money found in this manner to be the most sustainable is compared to various other prominent, if usually held to be mutually incompatible, theories.
Uploads
Papers by Tony Lawson
“Danger of abuse in the Health Service is always at the point where private commercialism impinges on the Service; where, for example, the optician is paid for the spectacles he himself prescribes, or the dentist gives an unnecessary filling for which he is paid. Abuse occurs where an attempt is made to marry the incompatible principles of private acquisitiveness with a public service. […] The solution is to decrease the dependence on private enterprise” (Aneurin Bevan, 1952)
“But need there be just one leap [to get rid of the NHS]? Might it not, rather, be possible to work slowly from the present system towards a national insurance scheme? One could begin for example, with the establishment of the NHS as an independent trust, with increased joint ventures between the NHS and the private sector; move on next to the use of ‘credits’ to meet standard charges set by central NHS funding administration for independently managed hospitals or districts; and only at the last stage create a national health scheme separate from the tax system.” (John Redwood, Oliver Letwin, 1988, [Tory MPs])
“Danger of abuse in the Health Service is always at the point where private commercialism impinges on the Service; where, for example, the optician is paid for the spectacles he himself prescribes, or the dentist gives an unnecessary filling for which he is paid. Abuse occurs where an attempt is made to marry the incompatible principles of private acquisitiveness with a public service. […] The solution is to decrease the dependence on private enterprise” (Aneurin Bevan, 1952)
“But need there be just one leap [to get rid of the NHS]? Might it not, rather, be possible to work slowly from the present system towards a national insurance scheme? One could begin for example, with the establishment of the NHS as an independent trust, with increased joint ventures between the NHS and the private sector; move on next to the use of ‘credits’ to meet standard charges set by central NHS funding administration for independently managed hospitals or districts; and only at the last stage create a national health scheme separate from the tax system.” (John Redwood, Oliver Letwin, 1988, [Tory MPs])