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7 - Economics as a Normative Discipline

Value Disentanglement in an “Objective” Economics

from Part III - Value and Subjectivity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2024

John B. Davis
Affiliation:
Marquette University, Wisconsin and Universiteit van Amsterdam
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Summary

Drawing on Putnam’s famous fact–value entanglement argument, Chapter 7 shows how economics is inescapably value-entangled, and argues that while economics is an inherently value-laden discipline it may still be an objective one. It describes economics’ value structure as being anchored by its main normative ideal shared across different approaches, individual realization – what most people in the discipline believe is most valuable and good about human society and characteristic of human nature. It compares two competing interpretations of what that ideal involves – one in mainstream economics and one in capability economics – distinguishing them according to the different additional values regarding what well-being involves, they adopt to give content to the individual realization ideal. It then evaluates these two approaches according to whether their different value structures are consistent – an analysis I characterize as value disentanglement. After this, the chapter turns to a general framework for ethics and economics – or ethics in economics – distinguishes four different forms of disciplinary relationships between economics and ethics, and argues that while cross-disciplinarity best describes the current status of economics and ethics, transdisciplinarity represents an aspirational conception of what an objective, value-laden economics ultimately requires.

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Identity, Capabilities, and Changing Economics
Reflexive, Adaptive, Socially Embedded Individuals
, pp. 165 - 191
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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  • Economics as a Normative Discipline
  • John B. Davis, Marquette University, Wisconsin and Universiteit van Amsterdam
  • Book: Identity, Capabilities, and Changing Economics
  • Online publication: 11 January 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009438247.011
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  • Economics as a Normative Discipline
  • John B. Davis, Marquette University, Wisconsin and Universiteit van Amsterdam
  • Book: Identity, Capabilities, and Changing Economics
  • Online publication: 11 January 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009438247.011
Available formats
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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Economics as a Normative Discipline
  • John B. Davis, Marquette University, Wisconsin and Universiteit van Amsterdam
  • Book: Identity, Capabilities, and Changing Economics
  • Online publication: 11 January 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009438247.011
Available formats
×