Introduction

‘Political Economy does not treat of the whole of man's nature as modified by the social state, nor of the whole conduct of man in society. It is concerned with him solely as a being who desires to possess wealth, and who is capable of judging that end…It makes entire abstraction of every other human passion or motive’ (Mill, 1897/1836, pp. 132–3).

The present volume argues that ‘relational goods’ are actually part of that ‘wealth’ on which John Stuart Mill focuses, and which still occupies the greatest part of economists' minds. Indeed, interpersonal relations, both outside and inside the economic field, influence economic performance, personal well-being and ‘public happiness’. The aim of this chapter is to investigate what role the analysis of interpersonal relations has played in the various moments and traditions of the history of economics, and, in so doing, to bring to light the reasons behind the methodological choices made in this regard by some leading scholars.

I claim that economists – or, at least, the greatest – have recognised that the interpersonal dimension is important in economic life. Some have even acknowledged that friendship or good conversations are an important component of welfare, generally understood. Nevertheless, not even those who were most persuaded of this claim have thought of making interpersonal relations a direct object of economic investigation, on the basis of the consideration that these aspects have no great relevance for economics, that they are not ‘wealth’.