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April 8, 2007
The paper entitled Moral Views of Market Society by Marion Fourcad and Kieran Healy, recently a Research Fellow in Social and Political Theory at the Australian National University, is an interesting exploration of the relationship between markets and the moral order. The text argues that Albert Hirschman's classical typology of three rival views of the market--- as civilizing, destructive or feeble in its effects on society--- is insufficient. They argue for a fourth view, which they call “moralized markets,” They say that the latter view, that markets are explicitly moral projects, saturated with normativity, has become increasingly prominent in economic sociology.
The traditional approach to markets + morality is that the moral underpinnings of the market is grounded on the concept of self-interest. In this debate defenders of markets generally follow in the footsteps of Adam Smith, and claim that good results can arise from complex systems of human interaction even when the individuals are not intending to generate those good outcomes. Egoism and greed no doubt exist, but through the mediation of markets, self-interest can work for the good. If defenders of the market point to its role in promoting virtues such as hard work, initiative and creativity, then critics point out that the utilitarian habit of basing actions on self-interest tends to spread into all areas of life, eventually undermining the moral standards on which the market itself depends.
I accept the view that that markets are culture as they are the products of human practice and sense-making and because markets are saturated with normativity---in that market exchange--insurance-- is embodied with moral meaning.--it is good to be insured, bad not to be. Economic values---such as efficiency, transparency, productivity, profit-making-- are also moral values as these economic values are seen to be, and understood as, good and not bad by various economic agents and economists. It provides the basis for a specific kind of moral order.
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Good find. I just read through it. Very interesting.