Ethics and Economic Theory: Ideas-Models-Dilemmas

This book provides a critical assessment of the relationship between economic theory, scientific objectivity and ethics. The main purpose of economic science is to analyze and "explain" the economic process but not necessarily to pass judgement as to whether this process is "good" or "bad". However, in practice is is very difficult for the economist to study the "laws" of economics without ever touching ethical questions. It is shown that economic theories - despite avowals of scientific objectivity - contain implicitly or explicitly many aspects which have ethical implications. Making extensive use of real-life examples and offering a perspective on the ethical dimensions of economic analysis, this book should prove interesting reading for economists and philosophers alike.