Economics and Ethics within the Austrian School of Economics
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23593047 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Peter J Boettke (0000-0003-4868-8898, George Mason University), Peter Boettke (Economics, George Mason University), Kaitlyn Woltz (George Mason University) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Pages | 229-247 |
| Publication date | 2019-06-13 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | CHAPTER |
| Venue | Oxford Handbook of Ethics and Economics (SOURCE_BOOK) |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198793991.013.14 |
| OpenAlex | W2966977452 |
| ISBN | 9780198793991 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 8 |
Twentieth-century Austrian economists became known as champions of the free-market system yet claimed value-freedom in their economic analysis. However, advocacy of free markets is viewed as inherently ideological, involving ethical assumptions within the economic analysis. In this chapter, we discuss the connection between economics and ethics in the Austrian school of economics. We explore what value-freedom in the Austrian school entails and how twentieth-century Austrian economists were able to hold dual positions as value-free economists and advocates of free markets. We argue that Austrian economists separate ethical assumptions from their economic analysis. They maintain strict adherence to value-free analysis through an emphasis on social cooperation, which allows them to maintain their objectivity with respect to individuals’ ends. This combination allows Austrian economists to maintain their positions as value-free scientists while arguing that a free-market, capitalist system will best achieve peoples’ diverse ends.
Austrian School · Classical economics · Economic analysis · Economic freedom · Economics · Epistemology · Free market · Ideology · Law and economics · Market economy · Neoclassical economics · Objectivity (philosophy) · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Schools of economic thought · Value (mathematics) · Economic Theory and Institutions · Law · Philosophy · Political Economy and Marxism · Political Philosophy and Ethics
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| Highly cited | No |
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