Traditionally economic anthropology has been studied by sociologists, anthropologists, and philosophers seeking to highlight the social foundations of economic action. Meanwhile, anthropological questions have remained largely untreated in economics, despite the prominence given to the individual in microeconomics. And there is very little in the way of dialogue between the two sides. This book argues for a new economic anthropology which goes beyond the conflict of economics and anthropology to show the complementarity of the two approaches. Economics needs to go beyond the stage of homo oeconomicus and be open to broader ideas about the person. Equally, anthropology can be enriched through the methods and models of economic theory. This new economic anthropology goes beyond a simple observation of societies. It is new because it introduces the responsible person with a wider range of characteristics, in particular vulnerability and suffering, as a subject of economics. It is a particular interpretation of economic anthropology calling for a broadening of the subject (moving from the individual to the person), range of values (admission of negative values for altruism, social capital, responsibility), and disciplinary references. Through this approach, both economics and anthropology can be enriched. This book will be of great interest to those working in the fields of economics, anthropology, philosophy, and development studies.
Author(s): François Régis Mahieu
Series: Economics and Humanities
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 127
City: London
Cover
Half Title
Series Information
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Illustrations
Note on Translation
Introduction
Notes
References
1 Nature of Economic Anthropology
1.1 Anthropology
1.2 The Anthropological Question in Contemporary Economic Theory
1.3 Definition of Economic Anthropology
1.4 Economic Anthropology Or Anthropological Economics?
1.5 In Search of Ethics Through Economic Anthropology
1.6 Identity
Conclusion
Notes
References
2 Anthropology and Economic Theory, a Difficult Association
2.1 The Difficulties of an Association Between Economics and Anthropology
2.1.1 Is Economics A-Anthropological?
2.1.2 Humankind, the Troublemaker
2.1.3 Is Microeconomics an Economic Anthropology?
2.1.4 A Difficult Expansion of Economic Calculation
2.2 How Can Anthropology Be Better Associated With Economics?
2.2.1 A Difficult Association
2.2.2 Economic Anthropology and Economic Theory: the Conditioned Humankind of Social Interaction
2.2.3 Economic Anthropology in the Face of Conflicts of Method
2.2.3.1 What Is Humankind? Status of Methodological Individualism
2.2.3.2 Microeconomic Foundations of Macroeconomic Imbalances
2.3 The Method: From Conflicts to Complementarity
2.3.1 Anthropology Favours Personal Experience in the Field
2.3.2 Complementarity of Methods in the Understanding of the Person
Conclusion
Notes
References
3 Integration of Personal Responsibility
3.1 Responsibility
3.1.1 Definition
3.1.2 An Application: Personal Rights and Obligations
3.1.3 The Community, Place of Responsibility
3.2 Rationality
3.3 Reasonability
Conclusion
Notes
References
4 An Anthropology of Human and Social Vulnerability
4.1 Define Vulnerability
4.1.1 A Difficult Definition
4.1.2 Vulnerability, Fragility, Fallibility, Faultivity
4.2 Vulnerability and Responsibility
4.2.1 A Special Case: the Person Responsible Is Therefore Vulnerable
4.2.2 Representation and Prediction Tools
Conclusion
Notes
References
5 The Suffering of the Person
5.1 Suffering and Well-Being
5.1.1 Suffering And/or Negative Utility
5.1.2 Priority to the Reduction of Suffering
5.2 An Ethics of Suffering
5.2.1 An Ethical Imperative: Not to Increase Suffering
5.2.2 A Heuristic of Suffering: a Long-Term Equilibrium
5.3 Interest of Psychoanalysis for the Economy
5.4 Economic Concepts and Models
5.4.1 A Principle of Compensation
5.4.2 An Intrapersonal Equilibrium
5.4.3 Extensions
Conclusion
Notes
References
Conclusion
Note
References
Glossary
Agency
Agent
Altruism
Anthropology
Cultural Anthropology
Economic Anthropology
Physical Anthropology
Social Anthropology
Autonomy
Capability
Capacities
Dignity
Envy
Ethics
Ethics of Responsibility
Fallibility
Freedom
Inner Freedom
Negative Freedom
Positive Freedom
Good (Sovereign Good)
Goulet, Denis (1931–2006)
Happiness
Identity
Individual
Jonas, Hans (1903–1993)
Levinas, Emmanuel (1906–1995)
Malevolence
Moral
Obligations
Optimum
Poverty Optimum
Other (The)
Pareto-unanimity
Person
Phenomenology
Economic Phenomenology
Resilience
Responsibility
Ex Ante Responsibility
Ex Post Responsibility
Responsibility, Principle
Ricoeur, Paul (1913–2005)
Rights
Sen, Amartya (1933–)
Spectrum
Subject
Suffering
Transfers
Utilitarianism
Virtue
Vulnerability
References
Index
