Description
Book SynopsisWhile ethics has been an integral part of economics since the days of Adam Smith (if not Aristotle), many modern economists dismiss ethical concerns in favor of increasing formal mathematical and computational methods. But recent financial crises in the real world have reignited discussions of the importance of ethics to economics, including growing calls for a new approach to incorporating moral philosophy in economic theory, practice, and policy. Ironically, it is the ethics of virtue advocated by Aristotle and Adam Smith that may lead to the most promising way to developing an economics that emphasizes the virtues, character, and judgment of the agents it models. In Economics and the Virtues, editors Jennifer A. Baker and Mark D. White have brought together fifteen leading scholars in economics and philosophy to offer fresh perspectives on integrating virtue into economics. The first section covers five major thinkers and schools in the virtue tradition, tracing historical connectio
Trade ReviewWhat kinds of habits to markets engender? Does capitalism corrupt, or does it promote trust, cooperation, and the development of human excellance? Can economists really make sense of human behaviour without paying attention to questions of character? Jennifer A.Baker and Mark D.White's fascinating volume assembles a wide-raning roster of scholars who lay out the best current thinking on these questions in erudite yet readable prose. It turns out that economists do have much to learn from the rich moral psychology of Aristotle, the Stoics, Adam Smith, and Kant. It turns out that markets aren't so bad for the soul. This is an indispensable collection for anyone interested in moral psychology, economic theory, or the morality of markets. * Will Wilkinson, Vice President for the Policy, Niskanen Center and former writer for The Economist *
Twentieth century economics sought rigour in models of rational choice, thereby bracketing concern with the goods that economic action can seek or undermine, and distancing economics from ethics. Economics and the Virtues is a rich and rewarding collection that brings together stimulating accounts of this loss and of some possibilities for retrieval. It explore classical accounts of the virtues, and argues that they remain essential not only to character but to culture, including the culture of markets' * Onora O'Neill, Baroness O'Neill of Bengarve, and Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, University of Cambridge *
Table of ContentsPART I: APPROACHES TO VIRTUE AND ECONOMICS; PART II: VIRTUE AND ECONOMICS IN THEORY; PART III: VIRTUE AND ECONOMICS IN PRACTICE
