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Economics and Ethics

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Philosophy of the Economy

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Philosophy ((BRIEFSPHILOSOPH))

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Abstract

This chapter explores the links between economics and ethics, which depend on the notion of economics considered. Political economy is a science of ends—a practical and moral, science, while economic theory is a technique that should be subordinated to the former. Economic theory cannot be specifically applied to reality without a commitment to values. In the twentieth century, economics tried to push values aside, but it is drawing closer to them today, following the lead of other social sciences.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    It should be clear that normativity on its own does not necessarily imply an ethical character. We can consider both ethical normativity and other kinds of normativities (technical, aesthetic, etc.). The use of the term “normativity” among economists, however, has tended to have ethical implications.

  2. 2.

    For example, Lawson (2003, pp. 22ff).

  3. 3.

    For an excellent review on the history and different aspects involved in the value-free discussion, see Harold Kincaid, John Dupré and Alison Wylie (2007). Hilary Putnam and Vivian Walsh (eds.), (2012), contains a collection of essays by them and Sen, Nussbaum and Harvey Gram also on this topic.

  4. 4.

    Similarly, Robbins (1935, p. 150) stated, “If we disagree about ends it is a case of thy blood or mine—or live and let live, according to the importance of the difference, or the relative strength of our opponents”.

  5. 5.

    For example, John L. Austin’s claimed that “The familiar contrast of “normative or evaluative” as opposed to the factual is in need, like so many dichotomies, of elimination. J.L. Austin, How to Do Things with Words, 1962, Lecture XII, p. 149.

  6. 6.

    Several authors have pointed to the anachronism or old-fashioned view of economics, which continues to assume the same outdated propositions—more than fifty years overdue, in fact—in the philosophy of science: cf. e. g., Walsh (1987, pp. 862, 868).

  7. 7.

    I have elaborated on this point in Chap. 5 of my recently published book (2014). On Aristotelian virtues as a way to deal with uncertainty, see Yuengert’s excellent account (2012, pp. 75–77 and 90–91) Crespo (2014).

  8. 8.

    I have elaborated extensively on these topics in my book 2000. Concerning Hayek specifically, this issue can be further explored in Crespo (2006b, pp. 25–33), Crespo (2000). Mill himself was a determinist.

  9. 9.

    It should be noted that Aristotle’s thoughts on freedom are not as clear as his other notions. For him, the place for exercising freedom would be the polis. I thank an anonymous referee for making this point.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophy, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo and Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Mendoza, Argentina

    Ricardo F. Crespo

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Crespo, R.F. (2013). Economics and Ethics. In: Philosophy of the Economy. SpringerBriefs in Philosophy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02648-0_5

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