Integrating heterodox economics into the orthodox introductory course

The introductory course poses a particular problem for a pluralist approach. The mainstream has assumed that its paradigm constitutes the whole of what is worthwhile communicating to first year students. Thus a substantial portion of the available teaching time has been pre-allocated. The typical pluralist response is to allocate time at the end of the semester to present alternative perspectives. This is problematic. This article proposes a practical alternative strategy by introducing alternative paradigms, specifically Marxian economics and institutionalism/post-Keynesianism, through using the standard introductory textbook sequence of definition, basic concepts, general model, description of capitalism, identification of key economic factor, and theory. This allows presenting alternative perspectives from the beginning of the course without necessarily abandoning the standard textbook. Macroeconomics can be introduced through presenting the three paradigms approach to issues, including unemployment, inflation, the business cycle, and trade/development.