Aristotle's Economic ThoughtAristotle's work on money was the backbone of medieval thinking about commerce, and it is still the foundation of Catholic teaching about market behaviour. Marx's theory of economic value was based on it, and so was much of the economic analysis of money into the present century. In the past hundred years the interpretation of Aristotle's work on money has become chaotic. Economists claim Aristotle as the father of economics, while classical scholars hold that Aristotle had no economic theory at all. It is argued here that Aristotle does develop a coherent theory of economic value, wealth, exchange, and money, but that this theory cannot be assimilated to what we call 'economics', because its metaphysical foundation is incompatible with the Humean metaphysics on which economics is built. From an Aristotelian standpoint, ethics and economics are competitors over the same ground, as rival sources of reasons for decision-making in the public realm, and they cannot be reconciled. |
Contents
Nicomachean Ethics 5 5 | 13 |
Nicomachean Ethics 5 5 | 28 |
Politics 1 43 | 62 |
Copyright | |
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activity Ancient Economy ancient world argued Aristotelian Aristotle and Economic Aristotle says Aristotle's economic Aristotle's view Barker beds behaviour builder to shoemaker chapter chreia chrêmatistikê commensurable common conception corrective justice criticism Delphian knife demand discussion distinction distributive justice Economic Analysis economic thought economists equation exchange value explain fair exchange Finley Finley's forms of exchange Greek History of Economic holds human Humean Ibid idea inequality inquiry kapêlikê kind koinônia labour Langholm lending London Magna Moralia market economy Marx Marx's means measure metaphysics Millett modern economic modernist neo-classical neo-classical economics Nicomachean Ethics nomics notion object Oxford philosophy Plato Polanyi polis Political Economy primitivist problem proportion quantity Rackham ratio reason Ross Schumpeter shoes Smith social sort Soudek substance suggests theory of value things tion trade unequal use-value usury utilitarian value and exchange Van Johnson wealth