Book Listing

A History of the Moral Economy – Markets, Custom and the Philosophy of Popular Entitlement

The term 'moral economy' has been used to demonstrate strong philosophical opposition to neoclassical economics. Over a millennium and across a spectrum of thinkers, it has been maintained that the economy always had, and indeed should always have, a moral foundation. In this timely work Owen retrieves from the history of economic thought a tradition of economic reasoning founded upon popular right, customary entitlement and commercial justice. For social scientists concerned with using 'moral economy' to counter the ethical claims of neo-classical economics, the thinkers examined in this work provide a necessary and illuminating starting point.