Abstract

CASTANEDA, Gonzalo. A Non-elephants World and a Competitive Mexico. Polít. gob [online]. 2012, vol.19, n.2, pp.283-312. ISSN 1665-2037.

This note presents a methodological criticism on the difficulties that essays in social science face for validating hypothesis and producing knowledge. With this aim, and as an example, an analysis is made on two books about the possibilities of political and economic transformation in Mexico. It is argued that essays usually generate biases related to the use of common sense when attempting to analyze complex system like those that characterize diverse social phenomena. Likewise, it is stated that in order to understand a counter-factual of reality (a competitive Mexico) it is necessary to develop a theoretical model capable of explaining current Mexico and what it could become in terms of statistical regularities.

Keywords : Mexico's transformation; collective action and institutional change; complex systems; social science methodology.

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