A question of economics: is it colonizing the social sciences?

A critical assessment is offered of recent developments within economics. Taking a recent article by Grahame Thompson as point of departure, it is suggested that an important aspect is the capacity to explain the social, such as institutions and structures, on the basis of individual optimization (in the presence of imperfect and asymmetric information). Such results from within economics are even more important for their impact on the relationship between economics and other social sciences, for the colonizing of other social sciences by economics has been considerably strengthened. This is illustrated by reference to 'social capital' and a variety of other examples. While the outcome of this 'revolution' around mainstream economics remains uncertain, in retreating from postmodernism other social sciences can incorporate a renewed interest in an economic content by drawing upon well-founded political economy as they have traditionally done in the past.