Cultures régionales et développement économique dans l'espace rhénan et au-delà

Contemporary economic thought is overwhelmingly dominated by the dogma of the neoclassical school and the Austrian neoliberal school, according to which social organization can fully be understood from two hypotheses: the society can be reduced to its economic aspects, and economic activities are exclusively explained by the utilitarist rationality of individuals. This approach makes unnecessary, at least in the economic sphere, the construction of a collective cultural framework based on preferences and values specific of a "situated" community. Now, many multidisciplinary works confirm the validity of Karl Polanyi's observations and the embedment of cultural aspects in the economic activity, especially within the firms and the territories. This paper discusses the contributions of two collective works: the first book devoted to the Rhine area's model of firm; the second devoted to the relationships between regional cultures and economic development. Based on the literature on this subject, the paper questions the nature of such a model. It also shows how regional cultures succeed to enrich the economic sphere, beyond the methodological individualism, through the construction of a culture of development. (English)