Moral Discourse in the History of Economic Thought

<p>Providing an account of the development of economic thought this book explores the extent to which economic ideas are rooted in moral values. </p><p>Adopting an approach rooted in ‘pragmatism’ the work explores key questions which have been considered by economists since the classical political economists. These include: what degree of priority ought to be granted to property rights among all individual liberties; whether uncertainties in economic life justify investing political authorities with the power to stabilize business cycles; whether it is better to trust entrepreneurial initiatives to resolve societal dilemmas or to centralize policy-making in the hands of a benevolent government. The chapters argue that economic thought has evolved from an emphasis on sympathy (as defined by Adam Smith) and that there has more recently been a rediscovery of the significance of sympathy reinvented as fair reciprocity in the wake of the emergence of behavioural economics and its connection to evolutionary psychology.</p><p>This key book is of great interest to readers in the history of ideas political and moral philosophy and political economy.</p>