This blog is about economics and ethics. It is not unique in
this respect. There are others.
One might ask why produce a blog on this combination. For
many, they do not represent a natural fit. After all, isn’t economics about self-interest?
Isn’t that greed? How ethical can that be? But the fit is natural.
When we consider the roots of economics, the connection to
ethics is quite clear. Early economic ideas were often put forth by
philosophers such as Aristotle, St. Thomas Aquinas, and others. The founder of
modern economics is usually identified as Adam Smith. He was a professor of
moral philosophy. His Theory of Moral
Sentiments predates the Inquiry into
the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by sixteen years. And he intended
both of them to be part of a larger compendium – to be read together with ideas
that built on one another.
Over time, economics has developed into a separate field.
Its practitioners often state their work is positive rather than normative and
integrating ethics can lead away from that “scientific” ideal. Perhaps that is
true. But one thing is clear, our decisions and choices – the fundamental
building blocks of economics are tinted by our values and viewpoints – our
belief in what is right and wrong. We make choices based on values and
viewpoints we pick up from others, or that we fail to learn from others. So
this blog is one more attempt to better understand the questions we face, using
both economic and ethical insights to examine the choices we face and make. It
is an attempt to shed light on our “self-interest” and to consider what that
really means.
This blog is made possible by generous grant to Randolph-Macon College by BB&T for the study
of The Moral Foundations of Capitalism. We hope you find the posts interesting, entertaining
and thought-provoking.
