Dominant and Competing Paradigms in Gerontology: Towards a Political Economy of Ageing

Abstract

The origins and influence of social science perspectives have conditioned theoretical and empirical developments in the field of gerontology. Yet little systematic examination has been afforded to the role of social science in the production of gerontological knowledge in providing the underlying rationale for American social policy for the aged. This paper examines the dominant U.S. social science perspectives or paradigms and discusses the reasons for their centrality in American gerontological thought. The paper concludes with a proposal for an alternative line of inquiry — a political economy of ageing — which takes as problematic the effects of social history, the world economy, capitalism and social class on the ageing process and the aged and the policy interventions designed for them.