The Gift of Freedom

Abstract

Reformulating economics to take proper account of individuals’ genuine freedom of action has significant consequences for economic theory, political philosophy, and practical policy. The drawbacks and limitations of a materialist/behaviorist/determinist economics have been obscured somewhat by the benefits economic growth has brought. Relief of large segments of humanity from the poverty of the pre-indus trial world has imbued economics with some of the same kind of prestige that technological achievements have bestowed on natural science, even though the contribution of academic economics to global progress has been relatively small compared to the benefits of the spread of capitalism. Ironically, the very successes of the natural sciences and the rise in standards of living have exposed the hollowness of the materialist/determinist world view. Local environmental degradation has often accompanied unsustainable practices associated with poverty, but global environmental catastrophe is only a threat today because of unsustainable practices made possible by technological progress. It is issues such as climate change having to do with the prospects of future generations that are most resistant to treatment by conventional economic methods.