Values

Arild Vatn

Chapter 7 in Rethinking Ecological Economics, 2026, pp 118-133 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: After having clarified what it means that the economy is embedded in the bio-physical, the next step is to illuminate what it means that it is also embedded in the social and the political. Chapter 7 is the first of three focusing on this issue. It looks at the role of values for human action. While neoclassical economics sees value as what we are willing to give up to get something (trade-offs), defining values as guiding principles in life is found to be a good basis for ecological economics. Values are seen as rooted in our worldviews and a distinction between broad and specific values is made. The latter can be divided into instrumental, relational and intrinsic values. These categories are explained. The chapter also discusses different perspectives on what is a good life, contrasting the neoclassical hedonist position with a eudaimonic position emphasizing feminist perspectives and the concept of capabilities.

Keywords: Values as principles; Worldviews; Broad values; Specific values; Life orientation; Hedonism vs eudaimonism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781803921839
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