- Title Pages
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- List of Contributors
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Why Economics Needs Ethical Theory
- Chapter 2 The Sen System of Social Evaluation
- Chapter 3 The Good Life and the Good Economy<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 4 The Adaptation Problem, Evolution and Normative Economics<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 5 Rights and Interests
- Chapter 6 Elements of a Theory of the Right to Development<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 7 Rational Choice on General Domains<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 8 Some Remarks on the Ranking of Infinite Utility Streams<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 9 Individual Choices in a Non‐Consequentialist Framework<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 10 The Method of Majority Decision and Rationality Conditions<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 11 Convexity and Separability in Representing Consensus
- Chapter 12 Rights, Individual Preferences and Collective Rationality
- Chapter 13 Irrelevant Alternatives
- Chapter 14 Limited Rights and Social Choice Rules<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 15 Dominance Criteria for Critical‐Level Generalized Utilitarianism<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 16 The Measurement of Capabilities<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 17 On Ultrapoverty<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 18 Multidimensional Poverty Orderings<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 19 External Capabilities<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 20 On the Welfarist Rationale for Relative Poverty Lines<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 21 Justice as Fairness and the Capability Approach<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 22 Ungrouping Income Distributions
- Chapter 23 A Practical Proposal for Simplifying the Measurement of Income Poverty<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 24 Concepts and Measures of Agency<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 25 Sen's Identities
- Chapter 26 Welfare Economics and Giving for Development<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 27 Equity and Sharing the Cost of a Public Project<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 28 Isolation, Assurance and Rules<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 29 Simple Formulae for Optimal Income Taxation and the Measurement of Inequality<sup>*</sup>
- Index of Names
- Index of Subjects
Why Economics Needs Ethical Theory
Why Economics Needs Ethical Theory
- Chapter:
- (p.7) Chapter 1 Why Economics Needs Ethical Theory
- Source:
- Arguments for a Better World: Essays in Honor of Amartya Sen
- Author(s):
John Broome (Contributor Webpage)
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Amartya Sen has worked tirelessly to establish the importance of ethics in economics. This chapter adds a little to his arguments. Whenever economics tries to determine how the economy ought to be structured or managed, it makes an ethical judgement. But economists use various devices to hide from themselves their need for ethical theory. The chapter describes and criticizes some of their devices. The main one is to found an account of value on people's preferences. In this way, economists hope to avoid making judgements of value themselves, but instead leave them to the people. However, this device entails implausible ethical commitments of its own. Economists need to found their recommendations on their best ethical judgements. They must make their judgements explicit, and they must be ready to defend them with good arguments.
Keywords: democracy, empirical ethics, ethics, existence value, normativity, preferences and value, value of life, welfare economics, willingness to pay
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- Title Pages
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- List of Contributors
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Why Economics Needs Ethical Theory
- Chapter 2 The Sen System of Social Evaluation
- Chapter 3 The Good Life and the Good Economy<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 4 The Adaptation Problem, Evolution and Normative Economics<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 5 Rights and Interests
- Chapter 6 Elements of a Theory of the Right to Development<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 7 Rational Choice on General Domains<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 8 Some Remarks on the Ranking of Infinite Utility Streams<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 9 Individual Choices in a Non‐Consequentialist Framework<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 10 The Method of Majority Decision and Rationality Conditions<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 11 Convexity and Separability in Representing Consensus
- Chapter 12 Rights, Individual Preferences and Collective Rationality
- Chapter 13 Irrelevant Alternatives
- Chapter 14 Limited Rights and Social Choice Rules<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 15 Dominance Criteria for Critical‐Level Generalized Utilitarianism<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 16 The Measurement of Capabilities<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 17 On Ultrapoverty<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 18 Multidimensional Poverty Orderings<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 19 External Capabilities<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 20 On the Welfarist Rationale for Relative Poverty Lines<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 21 Justice as Fairness and the Capability Approach<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 22 Ungrouping Income Distributions
- Chapter 23 A Practical Proposal for Simplifying the Measurement of Income Poverty<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 24 Concepts and Measures of Agency<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 25 Sen's Identities
- Chapter 26 Welfare Economics and Giving for Development<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 27 Equity and Sharing the Cost of a Public Project<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 28 Isolation, Assurance and Rules<sup>*</sup>
- Chapter 29 Simple Formulae for Optimal Income Taxation and the Measurement of Inequality<sup>*</sup>
- Index of Names
- Index of Subjects