'No reality please. We're economists'. There is a wide spread belief that modern economics is irrelevant to the understanding of the real world.

In a controversial and original study, Tony Lawson argues that the root of this irrelevance is in the failure of economists to find methods and tools which are appropriate for the social world it addresses. Supporting his argument with a wide range of examples, Tony Lawson offers a provocative account of why economics has gone wrong and how it can be put back on track.