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Rekindling
the imagination
editorial byLaurence Tubiana, director
of publication
and Christina von Furstenberg, Chief of the Policy
and Cooperation in Social Sciences Section, Division of Social
Sciences Research and Policy, UNESCO.
 he
social sciences, and especially economics, have been the sciences
of modernity, and of the social revolutions, planning and development
that have characterized the 20th century. This early 21st century
- when revolutions cause uncertainty, great importance is given
to the economy and networks seem to have supplanted States - is
distinctly breaking away from the plan of modernity where progress
depended on universal solutions, which have until now dominated
thinking.
In
these hesitant times, there are some who are beginning to question
the contribution made by social science, thus, in our opinion,
confusing the tool and its function. The role of social science
in understanding and analysing human societies and their processes
of organization and change can by no means be limited to the modernist
project. Showing caution in the face of linear progress or demanding
less universal solutions does not make research into mechanisms
in action any less valid: quite the contrary.
If
we do not restrict development to the narrow agenda of universalist
modernity, broad fields of investigation and analysis open up
to us, allowing greater understanding of the processes of social
change, collective and cultural preferences and mechanisms for
establishing rights, legitimacy, physical and economic security,
participation in decision-making, and so on. These fields require
not less, but more social science, greater interdisciplinarity
and more basic research.
The
agendas of scientists and politicians alike are therefore far
from empty. The accepted and much-discussed objectives of sustainable
development, meeting human needs, eradicating poverty, protecting
the environment and regulating production processes cannot be
achieved without better understanding of local mechanisms for
appropriating these watchwords and shrewd reflection on the way
in which the international system works. The questions raised
by the instability of States, globalization, indigenous peoples'
access to knowledge and resources, and so on, are further areas
where politicians have very little hindsight in terms of the projects
they undertake.
Once
again, meaning is important, and only social science is in a position
to deconstruct and develop the imagination needed for political
action.
This
issue is suported by the Unesco-Most and will be distributed during
the International Forum international on Social Science - Policy
Nexus, Buenos Aires (September, 5-9, 2005). www.unesco.org/shs/ifsp
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74 - Social science and Development