The Empirical Basis And Fetishis Nature Of The Empirical Methodology Of Western Mainstream Economics

The reason why the Western mainstream economics is prevailing lies to a large extent in its positive methodology. With the in-depth development of the socialist market economy, the positive methodology has increasingly become an important tool for economic research in China, and the research of it is also becoming more and more significant, theoretically and practically. As the important scientific result of economics, it is of great methodological significance. However, it has its own flaws. Thus, this dissertation aims to make a tentative exploration into the imperfect aspects in order to have a more comprehensive understanding of this methodology.This dissertation is composed of three parts. The first chapter is an introduction. The second one analyses the basis and related fields of the positive methodology of the Western mainstream economics. The third chapter takes the positive principle of the Marxist economics as a reference, analyses the positive methodology of Western mainstream economics in respect of the basic logic, realistic attitude, etc., and compare the two schools of economics in terms of methodology. There are deep roots between positive methodology of the Western mainstream economics, positive philosophy, and natural sciences. The fourth chapter specifically explores the relationship between them, analyses their changes and discusses the contingent issues in its research methodology.The second part is the central part containing two chapters. We argue that the fundamental flaw of the positive methodology of Western mainstream economics is fetishism. Positive methodology itself is a research tool—to say nothing of shortcomings. Once applied in Western economics, it is fetishistic and has become an external manifestation of Western economic fetishism. It is basically submitted to the daily economic activities of the bourgeois in pursuit of surplus value. To reveal the fetishistic nature of the Western mainstream economics, we should examine its fundamental fields, that is, the usual economic activities of the capitalists. The fourth chapter starts with the isolated daily economic experiences of capitalists to study the fetishistic nature of isolated positive methodology of Western mainstream economics. The fifth chapter starts from the quantitative daily economics experiences of the capitalists to discuss the fetishistic nature of quantitative positive methodology of Western mainstream economics.The third part contains the sixth and seventh chapters and is still the central part of this dissertation. Contemporary Westemmainstream economics reflected its positive methodology and tried to correct the shortcomings in its isolated research by the multi-factor analysis of mathematical economics and econometrics; overcome its flaws in the study of human relations by game theory; and make up its fetishistic weaknesses by redefining the function of the positive methodology. Although these reflections enriched the form and content of the research methodology, and technically connected the new content with its old method by way of partial differential locking and the conversion method of game theory, in essence, it is still a case of using old methods to study new problems. Such redefinition did not bring a fundamental change to its fetishistic nature. Reconstruction of the positive methodology of Western mainstream economics can find inspiration in the methodological practice principle of Marxist economics.The last chapter examines the fetishistic nature of positive methodology of Western mainstream economics in the broad background of Chinese history. According to North’s suggestion of China’s economic trends and Russell’s expectation for China’s development direction we can more clearly recognize the limitation of the fetishistic nature of the economic methodology and unwaveringly strengthen our conviction for the development direction with Chinese characteristics.The major innovative points of the paper are listed as following:(1) Reveal the fetishistic nature of the Western mainstream economics from the perspective of experience.(2) Make a comparative analysis of the methodology between the Marxist economics and the Western mainstream economics.(3) Analyze the contingent issues between the positive methodology of Western mainstream economics and natural sciences; explore the dilemma of the positive methodology of Western mainstream.(4) Present the physical transformation method of Western mainstream economics in the study of human relations (5) Reveal the essence of econometrics which is actually an isolated research using partial derivative.