The Use of Language in Political Economy

Vilfredo Pareto’sPareto, Vilfredo distinction between logical and non-logical environmentsNon-logical environments, which we discussed briefly in Chapter 2 , points toward questions regarding the use of language in political economy, especially regarding language differences among environments. Recall that logical environmentsLogical environments are those in which there is a clear connection between the means employed and the ends achieved. Scientific and market environments both fit this definition. Non-logical environments lack this close connection between means and ends, so operators in those environments must advance rationalizationsRationalization to support their actions. Government activities and religion, according to Pareto, fit this non-logical mold. While communication among humans occurs through language, there are different environments through which that communication occurs. Still, most contemporary discourse in political economy operates under the pretense that only one language is present across all environments. The effect of this pretense, as we shall explain, is to support the spread of politics within society.