The economist as shaman: revisioning our role for a sustainable, provisioning economy

Molly Scott Cato ()
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Molly Scott Cato: University of Roehampton

The Journal of Philosophical Economics, 2012, vol. 5, issue 2, 64-83

Abstract: In view of the problems heterodox economists have faced in predicting, explaining and finding solutions to the financial and ecological crises facing humanity, the paper takes a wide-angle view of the question of what the role of an economist might be in a sustainable society. I argue that the role of an economist is one of an intermediary between people and the resources they need for survival, a role that in less rationalist societies might have been performed by a priest or shaman. I propose three central responsibilities for an economist in a sustainable society: supporting a process of re-embedding the economy in the environment; negotiating a respectful—even reverential—relationship between humans and non-human species; ensuring a means of acquiring resources that minimises the entropic impact of the human community.

Keywords: green economy; sustainability; economic methodology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bus:jphile:v:5:y:2012:i:2:p:64-83

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