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1.Theoriginsofvalue-freeeconomics
-freeeconomics.1Stillalotofneoclassicaleconomistsperceiveutilityand
instrumentalrationalityaspositiveconceptions.Positive/normativedichotomy
isinvestigatedtoassesswhethereconomists’beliefisjustifiedandtowhat
problemsitleads.Afterreadingthenexttwochapters,itwillbepossibleto
decidewhethereconomicsshouldsticktoaneffectivevalue-freeapproachor
shoulditlooktowardssomegoal-orientednormativeapproaches.
BeforemovingtoBeckerandhiseconomicapproachitisnecessarytoanalyse
thehistoryofeconomicthought,whichisthegoalofthefirstchapter.Itwill
enableustoindicatewhatarethecornerstonesandtheoriginsofneoclassical
economics,andhowtheyhavechangedovertheyears.Weneedtobegin
withthemarginalrevolutionwhichstartedintheearly1870swhenthree
independenteconomists(Jevons,Menger,andWalras)cameupwithasimilar
idea.Thenotionofrevolutionisnotaccidental,becausetheprimaryinterestof
economicsshiftedatthattimefromtheproductionofwealthtoutilitywhich
isgainedfromconsumption.Moreover,thefocusshiftedfromanalysing
thewholeeconomytowardsindividualsandtheirwants(methodological
individualism).
Itishardtooverestimatetheinfluenceofutilityconceptiononvalue-free
economics.Inthiscontext,itcanevenbestatedthatBenthamwasoneofthe
fathersofcontemporaryeconomics.Certainlyheisregardedasthefounderof
utilitarianism.Forhimutilitycanmeaneverythingthatisbeneficialforsomeone.
Whatismoreimportant,inBentham’sopinionpeoplealwaysseektomaximize
utilityandthisisbecauseHnaturehasplacedmankindunderthegovernanceof
twosovereignmasters,painandpleasure”(Bentham,1907,I.1).Furthermore,
Benthamunderlinesthatpleasureandpainarenotonlyourempiricallmasters’
butalsotheydefinehowweshouldbehaveHItisforthemalonetopointoutwhat
weoughttodo,aswellastodeterminewhatweshalldo”(Bentham,1907,I.1).
Thisaccentuationisessential,becauseineconomicsutilitarianismisdiscerned
onlyasasystemthatdescribeshumanbehaviour.Itdealswithindividualchoices
notwithethicsinwhichapredominantfeatureisuniversalism.2
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2
Thetermlneoclassicaleconomics’isoftenoverusedanditleadstoobscurity(Colander,
2000).Inthisbooktermslneoclassical’andlvalue-freeeconomics’areusedinterchangeably,
becausebothofthemarebasedmainlyonrevealedpreferencetheorywhichisnotinterested
inhumangoals,assumesthatpeopledowhatisbestforthem,andrationalityisdefnedby
technicalcriteria(consistency,completenessofpreferences)
Universalismmeansthatethicalsystemshavesomerulesthatmustbefollowedinall
circumstancesbyallpeople.Generally,universalismisidentifedwithdeontological
approaches(Kant’scategoricalimperative)whenpeoplemustfollowsomeduty/rulesno
matterwhattheconsequencesare(Kant,1993).However,alsoconsequentialistapproaches
(utilitarianism)areuniversalinthesensethatallpeopleneedtofollowsomerule(maximize
utility).Moreabouttherelationshipbetweenethicsandeconomicssee(Etzioni;1988;Fiedor,
&Ostapiuk,2017;Hardt,2020;Róna,&Zsolnai,2017).
