Economics, society and ethics in a humane context

George Kararach ()

Chapter 12 in Liberating Economics From Ideologies and Dystopia, 2025, pp 151-163 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: An economy should capture the totality of the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. Such an economy has to allow for relations that accommodate both self-sufficiency and exchange, implying economic activities would be encapsulated by subsistence, buying and selling, renting, trading and so forth, which becomes institutionalised in a monetary economy on the one hand, and a social economy on the other. The primary social function of the market is widened to produce the necessary goods and services that make for survival and comfort. The economy directly provides housing, food, clothing, transportation and even the materials necessary for most cultural amenities. Excess wealth generated can be used for charity and social protection, investment, economic expansion and other public projects. A humane economy would be one that is able to produce an abundant amount of wealth by recognising the criticality of investment and aggregate demand. Given the reality of contestations that define a modern economy, this wealth should be produced justly, avoiding greed, deceit and fraud. The processes of production and indeed the entire economy would be defined by values that prioritise economy to service society – resisting the temptation to elevate the market mechanism to a faith. The relations between the private sector and the state would be redefined to guide the amount of government control present in the economy. A strong juridical and institutional framework is required for both the market and state to operate effectively. The political institutions need to set out the social contract to form symbiotic relationships with market institutions. This heterodox view of the economy draws on the works and ideas of the likes of Joan Robinson, Gunnar Myrdal, Franz Fanon, Steve Biko and Thomas Sankara.

Keywords: Economics; Society; Ethics; Heterodox; Perspective; Social justice; Fairness; Production; Distribution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035316175
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