Abstract

Starting point is the thesis that economics - as well as other social sciences - is imperialistic with regard to the area of its subject, but not with regard to its approach. Underlying economics is the following schema: Try to explain under the presumption that actors maximize their expected utility under constraints. Conditions and possibilities of interdisciplinary research within all sciences being considered imperialistic are discussed according to this schema. Theoretical guide-lines are provided by the systematic connection of ‘problem’ and ‘schema’, as well as the concept of ‘fruitfulness’ as primary criterion of judgement.