The social theory foundations of relational economic geography, social cosmology and naturalistic metaphors

Abstract

Bathelt and Gluckler conceive their relational economic geography as a non-spatial social science. This paper offers a critique of the social theory foundations of this approach. It is argued that economic action is embedded in social relations by reducing specific social relations to ahistorical abstractions. Social action remains an external supplement to economic processes. Because of this universalist concept, Bathelt and Gluckler's evolutionary theory of social change draws on naturalistic arguments, using biological analogies to understand social processes. The paper discusses the ways in which this new paradigm contributes to the scientific modernization of the discipline as proposed by the authors.