Social ontology and the fiduciary: Under-labouring for the relational non-ideal

Mussell, Helen ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7581-9713 2026. Social ontology and the fiduciary: Under-labouring for the relational non-ideal. Negru, Ioana, Pratten, Stephen and Slade Caffarel, Yannick, eds. Modern Economics and Social Reality: Essays in Honour of Tony Lawson, Routledge, pp. 59-70. (10.4324/9781003651499-4)

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Abstract

This chapter focuses on Lawson’s ontological under-labouring and how his realist project has laid out a helpful framework for analysing conceptual evolution across the social sciences, using a substantive example of the legal concept of the fiduciary. The first section briefly outlines two aspects of Lawson’s social ontology that are useful for analysing concepts – namely his account of a relational social reality including social positioning theory, and the interconnected critique of homo economicus as an ideal type of economic agency. The second section introduces the fiduciary, applies these two ontological aspects to the legal concept, and shows how they can under-labour to identify and explain sites of confusion and tension. This substantive exercise illustrates the far-reaching usefulness and application of Lawson’s under-labouring approach to disciplines outside of economics, whilst highlighting its clear truth-seeking potential.

Item Type:	Book Section
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Business (Including Economics)
Publisher:	Routledge
ISBN:	9781003651499
Last Modified:	13 Oct 2026 10:39
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/187152

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