And like a good engineer who abandons a faulty design, it may be time for you to discard your dream of a new "master theory".
[WS:] I disagree. I think there is a great need for "master theories" out there - as evidenced by the immense popularity of neoliberalism, especially with professionals, and religion. Looking for meaning and sense in the jungle of information is a part of human nature. Given the information glut that we face today, the need for a sense-making master theory is greater not smaller than in the past.
Besides, I do not think that socialism i.e. planned economy based on public ownership of the means of production is a faulty design. Au contraire, it is the design for the future that suffered a temporary setback by inept attempts at implementation in the past and backstabbing by the utopian, populist left.
In any case, sorry for overposting. I am out of here for today.
Wojtek