How to understand "in and of themselves" in this sentence?

Question

In addition to investigating how financial value is produced,46 such scholarship has shown that discourses of financialization cannot, in and of themselves, explain the sweeping changes that are happening in the global economy.

How to understand "in and of themselves" in this sentence?

I don't want to close this question with a single vote, so I will instead ask whether the answers at What is the reasoning for the idiom "in and of itself" having the meaning it has? answer your question. Do they? — Sven Yargs, Dec 25 '20 at 04:51
Does this answer your question? What is the reasoning for the idiom "in and of itself" having the meaning it has? — Cascabel_StandWithUkraine_, Dec 25 '20 at 16:16

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 21 '20 at 18:51

If you simplify your sentence, you get

Discourses cannot explain [something] in and of themselves.

The expression here is in and of itself. According to dictionary.com,

In and of itself is another way of saying “on its own” or “by its very nature.” For example,

The final book in the series is, in and of itself, a great work of art.

Therefore, your simplified sentence could read:

Discourses cannot explain [something] by their very nature or on their own.

How to understand "in and of themselves" in this sentence?

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