Social sciences and social policies

Abstract

The book published under the name “Open the social sciences” (2006) by Immanuel Wallerstein is inserted in a very broad debate on the origin and objectives of science and in particular of social science. Two explicit influences of Wallerstein are Karl Marx and Fernand Braudel to write this work and, in this sense, it should be considered that Wallerstein's proposal will not be far from these authors. It is important to note that Wallerstein proposes well to the giants on whom he will stand on his shoulders, to occupy Newton's metaphor, when he presents his proposal: Calestous Juma, Evelyn Fox Keller, Jügen Kocka, Dominique Lecourt, Valentine Mudimbe, Kinhide Mushakoji, Peter Taylor, Michel-Rolph Trouillot and, very carefully, Ilya Prigogine. This document is divided into two sections. The first section addresses Immanuel Wallerstein's proposal on the current challenge of the social sciences and tries to make a general explanation of one of the most important positions in our field of knowledge. The second section is a general reflection on the inscription of social policies in the debate in the social sciences.