Economy and Morality: The Philosophy of the Welfare State - Hardcover

Shionoya, Yuichi

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1858984807 ISBN 13: 9781858984803

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd, 2005

Synopsis

What is the purpose of the economy? To answer this intriguing and fundamental question, this book provides a systematic approach to economic ethics and constructs a relationship between the economy and morality; it expounds theoretical and practical issues of economic philosophy along two dimensions: values and institutions.

On the dimension of values, Yuichi Shionoya explores the connections between the economy and morality by reconstructing a coherent system of ethics that coordinates the 'good, right, and virtue'. Based on this system of ethics, the book goes on to discuss the dimension of institutions and presents the philosophy of the welfare state, consisting of a tripartite contemporary institution of 'capitalism, democracy, and social security'. Economy and Morality is a remarkable contribution to economic ethics exploring key philosophical issues including efficiency versus justice and liberty versus excellence. Its unique emphasis is the economics of virtue, which is concerned with the virtuous utilization of economic resources for human development, and applied to the reform of the welfare state.

Economists, philosophers and scholars of social policy and the welfare state will all find this book of great interest - part of its appeal lying in its interdisciplinary approach to contemporary economic, political and social systems based on the synthesis of moral values.

About this title

About the Author

The late Yuichi Shionoya, formerly Emeritus Professor of Economics and President, Hitotsubashi University, Japan

Edition details

• Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1858984807
• ISBN 13: 9781858984803
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 368