Table of Contents
Definition of Economic Reductionism
(noun) A theory stating all social phenomena have an economic explanation.
Example of Economic Reductionism
Economic Reductionism Pronunciation
Syllabification: ec·o·nom·ic re·duc·tion·ism
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /ek-uh-nAHm-ik ri-dUHk-shuh-niz-uhm/
- British English – /e-kuh-nOm-ik ri-dUHk-shuh-ni-zuhm/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /ˌɛkəˈnɑmɪk rəˈdʌkʃənɪz(ə)m/
- British English – /ˌiːkəˈnɒmɪk rɪˈdʌkʃənɪz(ə)m/
Usage Notes
- Plural: economic reductionisms
- Not to be confused with economic determinism.
- A type of reductionism.
Related Quotation
- “Reductionism of any type tends to suggest that particular units of analysis or variables are more relevant than others. Suppose we ask what caused the American Revolution. Was it a shared commitment to the value of individual liberty? The economic plight of the colonies in relation to Britain? The megalomania of the founders? As soon as we inquire about the single cause, we run the risk of reductionism. If we were to regard shared values as the cause of the American Revolution, our unit of analysis would be the individual colonist. An economist, though, might choose the 13 colonies as units of analysis and examine the economic organizations and conditions of each. A psychologist might choose individual leaders as the units of analysis for purposes of examining their personalities” (Babbie 2011:109).
Related Video
Additional Information
- Economic Sociology Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “economic” and “reductionism” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
Related Terms
- commodity
- communism
- crime
- division of labor
- economic system
- economics
- economy
- reductionism
- society
- theory
Reference
Babbie, Earl R. 2011. The Basics of Social Research. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Works Consulted
Merriam-Webster. (N.d.) Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/).
Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).
Princeton University. 2010. WordNet. (https://wordnet.princeton.edu/).
Random House Webster’s College Dictionary. 1997. New York: Random House.
Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).
Cite the Definition of Economic Reductionism
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “economic reductionism.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 19, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/economic-reductionism/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
economic reductionism. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/economic-reductionism/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “economic reductionism.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 19, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/economic-reductionism/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“economic reductionism.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/economic-reductionism/>.