Between Social Science and Social Technology

Abstract

This analysis examines fundamental questions at the intersection of social science and social technology as well as problems of disciplinary divisions and the challenge of cross-disciplinary cooperation. Its theoretical-empirical context is provided by post-communist transformations, a set of profound societal changes in which institutional design plays a central role. The article critically reappraises the contribution of Karl Popper's philosophy to this problem context, examines neoliberalism as social science and social technology, and examines the role of experts and disciplinary divisions in the reform process. Building on Mario Bunge's social philosophy, it sketches basic elements of a cross-disciplinary approach to "social change by design."

How Does It Work?

“…This quest for understanding through hypothesizing mechanisms is what drove Thucydides, Aristotle, Ibn Khaldûn, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Holbach, Tocqueville, Marx, Durkheim, Simmel, Schumpeter, Keynes, Braudel, Merton, Coleman, Dahl, and Trigger, among others. The only recent novelty is that finally there is now more explicit talk of social mechanisms (see, e.g., Hedström and Swedberg 1998;Pickel 2001;Tilly 2001).…”

“…Scientific anthropologists try to discover how primitive societies and other human groups manage; sociologists, how modern societies and their subsystems work; economists and socioeconomists, how the modern economic system operates; politologists and political sociologists, how the political system works; culturologists, what stimulates or inhibits the cultural system; and historians and archaeologists, how and why social systems have changed over time. This quest for understanding through hypothesizing mechanisms is what drove Thucydides, Aristotle, Ibn Khaldûn, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Holbach, Tocqueville, Marx, Durkheim, Simmel, Schumpeter, Keynes, Braudel, Merton, Coleman, Dahl, and Trigger, among others. The only recent novelty is that finally there is now more explicit talk of social mechanisms (see, e.g., Hedström and Swedberg 1998;Pickel 2001;Tilly 2001).…”

Invigorating Care Farm Ecosystem Based on Public Service Innovation: Case of South Korea

“…As manpower that underwent manager/operator courses in business schools, etc., is recruited, private companies' management models are applied, thus changing structures or practices. As stakeholders' needs on fund procurement increase, the strategic plans and evaluations have become included in major organizational activities (Pickel 2001;Hardyman et al 2021). As social contribution is being shifted from a charity based on personal altruism to strategic philanthropy, economic value prioritizing business performance has emerged (Marginson 2014;Marit et al 2021).…”