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Basics part 2

What I find fascinating about Commons is that he states right up front in Institutional Economics that "I set forth a record of participation. I hold that this book is not so much a theory personal to myself as it is a theory conforming to many experiments in collective action and requiring therefore a reconciliation with the individualistic and collectivistic theories of the past two hundred years" (pg. 1, Commons, 2005).  Thus, we have a theorist who is explicilty stating that their theory is at least partially based on their own experiences in life and not just simply a reflection of the so called natural order that has been created with no bearing from their own life.  At the same time, Commons tells us that his theory must be judged relative to the other theories of economics from the 18th, 19th and early 20th century.  This is an ambitious book and at times very hard to read and yet I believe it contains an enormous amount of knowledge and wisdom that applies well to the 21st century.

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