A Note on the Principle of "Normative Individualism"

Christian Schubert

Papers on Economics and Evolution from Philipps University Marburg, Department of Geography

Abstract: According to the principle of Normative Individualism, the evaluation of economic states and processes should be guided exclusively by the wishes of the individuals who are seen as the only bearer of values. Despite its intuitive appeal and its almost universal acceptance in normative economics (i.e., Welfare Economics as well as Constitutional Economics), the principle itself has received only scarce, mostly skeptical attention in the literature. It has even less been discussed from an explicitly evolutionary perspective on human preference formation processes. It is argued that it may be made compatible with such a perspective if it is transformed into a concept of "developmental individualism" that encompasses three sets of criteria, viz. preference-based, opportunity-based and distributive justice criteria.

Keywords: Normative Individualism; Normative Reasoning; Welfare Economics; Variable Preferences; Responsibility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: B4 B52 D63 I3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 25 pages
Date: 2006-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cbe
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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