Abstract
In this chapter, I systematically distinguish a variety of ways to relationalize economics and focus on a certain approach to relationalizing normative economics in the light of communal values salient in the African philosophical tradition. I start by distinguishing four major ways to relationalize empirical economics, viz., in terms of its ontologies, methods, explanations, and predictions and also three major ways to relationalize normative economics, with regard to means taken towards ends, decision-procedures used to specify ends, and ends themselves. Then, in the remainder of the chapter, I address what would be involved in relationalizing the ends of economic choices, given ideals of communal relationship characteristically prized by sub-Saharan philosophers, particularly southern African adherents to ubuntu. I advance communal answers to the two large questions of what an economy should distribute and how to engage with stakeholders, and I suggest that the implications will be found plausible by many open-minded enquirers around the world. Although this chapter is a work of ethical philosophy, it is meant to be of broad interest to scholars in economics.
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Notes
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Perhaps since they have a dignity precisely by virtue of their capacity to be party to such relationships as subjects (Metz, 2022).
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One notable exception is the Royal Government of Bhutan, which for about 50 years has instead used Gross National Happiness as its metric (on which see Centre for Bhutan Studies and GNH, 2017).
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The rest of this paragraph borrows from Metz (2022: 222).
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Perhaps because of their greater capacity to relate communally, as subjects.
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Metz, T. (2024). Relationalizing Normative Economics: Some Insights from Africa. In: Wieland, J., Linder, S., Geraldo Schwengber, J., Zicari, A. (eds) Cooperation in Value-Creating Networks. Relational Economics and Organization Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-50718-2_8
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