CFP: Journal of Critical Globalisation Studies: Modelling Capitalism

The next issue of the Journal of Critical Globalisation Studies is on the theme of ‘Modelling Capitalism’. We aim to be the first interdisciplinary journal to examine this important global trend: the increasing use of models and computer simulations to understand global economic dynamics.

Frequently held in suspicion by critical thinkers, modelling and simulation technologies are nonetheless more and more integral to how the world works, utilised by international bodies, governments, financial firms, and large corporations. This special issue wishes to approach in a synoptic fashion some of big themes raised by this development. Questions we are concerned with include fundamental philosophical issues: Can economic models ever be realistic? Can they model complexity? Pragmatic questions: Is their use responsible for the depression initiated with the 2008 crash? To what extent are they changing the nature of capitalism? Political debate: Do models merely dress up dominant ideologies in technical drapery? Can models be used for critical purposes, or for proposing economic alternatives? With this issue we thus aim to bring into dialogue scholars working in diverse fields including the philosophy of science, economic modelling, the social studies of finance, and political theory.

To explore these issues, the journal is open to articles, essays and interview contributions in the following streams:

1. How realistic are models?
2. Can models model complexity?
3. Can value theory be modelled?
4. Are models making capitalism in their image?
5. Models: oppressive or liberating technologies?

We are also willing to consider suggestions for other lines of investigation or special features.

In the first instance, please send an abstract to editor-in-chief for issue 7, Nathan Coombs, detailing your proposed contribution: [email protected]

Please send complete manuscripts to: [email protected].

Final submission deadline: 1 August 2013