Against Standardization: Reflections on Decolonization, Logic and Economics

This paper considers the notion of decolonization through the concerns of epistemic domination and standardization in the context of economics. Exploring the connections between colonization and the drive to standardize across different spheres, it briefly outlines how standardization has occurred in economic theorizing, especially in the mathematical mode. The excessive, unchallenged reliance of economic theory on classical mathematics and logic to formulate economic problems is highlighted. Building on this, it draws from alternative approaches to logic and makes a case for adopting pluralism of logics — and not just of theories and methods — in economics. Overall, we argue for conceiving decolonization as a process not simply of undoing existing colonial influences, but also, by adopting a pluralist approach, of resisting future attempts at epistemic colonization.