Is Neoclassical Economics Scientific Knowledge Detached from Ethics? A Kantian Answer, an Institutionalist Alternative

Fernando García-Quero and Jorge Ollero-Perán
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Fernando García-Quero: University of Granada, Granada, Spain
Jorge Ollero-Perán: Penitentiary Institutions Seville, Andalusia, Spain

Review of Radical Political Economics, 2015, vol. 47, issue 1, 56-69

Abstract: This paper aims to criticize the common idea which sustains that current neoclassical economics is detached from ethics, and therefore is scientific knowledge. Using Kantian critical philosophy, we argue, on the contrary, that neoclassical economics is based on certain ethical postulates, and thus it cannot obtain the status of science. Although ethics is but one of the many institutions that affect economics, it plays a major role in setting the basis on which to build its entire theoretical structure. Approaching the analysis from institutionalism places ethical issues at the forefront of economic debate, thus opening the door to future dialogue between disciplines and analytical approaches.

Keywords: ethical values; critical institutionalism; Kant; Marx; social science; Veblen (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A13 B10 B50 Z18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:reorpe:v:47:y:2015:i:1:p:56-69

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