To varying degrees, people immersed in the study of economics may adopt more than just an analytical toolkit; they may hold some economic concepts as moral foundations.
I have spent the past thirty-five years as a professor of economics. Over the course of my tenure at The American University, in Washington, DC (1965-75) and the University of Notre Dame (1975 present), however, I became ever more disenchanted with the capacity of traditional economic theory to enable people to lead a good life. I found myself unable to accept the values embedded in economic theory, particularly the elevation of self-interest, the neglect of income distribution, and the attempts to export these values into studies of the family, the role of the state and so on. As a result I started researching and writing on the nature of economics and the role of ethics in economic theory.
This work has led me to three important conclusions. First is the conviction that economic theory is not value-free as is so often claimed. Rather, it presupposes a set of value judgments upon which economic analysis is erected. Second is the realization that the economy itself requires that the self interest of economic actors be morally constrained. Third is the recognition that economic institutions and policies impact people’s lives requiring that both efficiency and equity be assessed. Teachers of economics need to make use of these insights.
Though Wilber (above) focuses on neoclassical economics as entangled with libertarianism, there are other couplings across different flavors of economic history: Marxism, Keynesianism, Development Economics, and more.
I have a working theory, which I have reflected on imperfectly: mentioning the difference between an analytical toolkit (aka modeling approach) and a value system goes a long way towards orienting myself in a discussion with someone I don’t know well. In some ways, it can be a test balloon to assess someone’s awareness of the complexity of economics.
What does economics-as-moral-foundation mean?
To varying degrees, people immersed in the study of economics may adopt more than just an analytical toolkit; they may hold some economic concepts as moral foundations.
To give some context, I have bolded two parts from Teaching Economics as if Ethics Mattered (2004) by Charles K. Wilber:
Though Wilber (above) focuses on neoclassical economics as entangled with libertarianism, there are other couplings across different flavors of economic history: Marxism, Keynesianism, Development Economics, and more.
I have a working theory, which I have reflected on imperfectly: mentioning the difference between an analytical toolkit (aka modeling approach) and a value system goes a long way towards orienting myself in a discussion with someone I don’t know well. In some ways, it can be a test balloon to assess someone’s awareness of the complexity of economics.