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Moral development of the economic actor

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  • Ingebrigtsen, Stig
  • Jakobsen, Ove

Abstract

In this article we argue that the changes in moral content in economics can be explained as an evolution in accordance with the maturing process presented in Kohlberg's stages of moral development. Firstly, we describe and discuss the three levels of moral progress; pre-conventional, conventional and post-conventional as presented in Kohlberg's theory. Secondly, we draw a distinction between classical economics, neoclassical economics, and ecological economics, and discuss to what extent the differences in ethics within the three theories can be explained by referring to the ethical development characterizing Kohlberg's moral stages. Thirdly, we discuss some of the hallmarks characterizing economics based upon what Kohlberg termed, "universal principles" at the highest stage in the development of moral reasoning. To exemplify the evolution of moral reasoning in different economic theories, we describe the changes that take place in the image of man over the last 2-300Â years. The human being in economics has been discussed in this journal with reference to three different relations, to himself, community, and nature. We have used the metaphors "economic man", "social man", and "ecological man" to characterize the ethical content of the three first stages. At the first stage, "economic man" interpreted as an egocentric individual seeking personal gain, characterizes classical economics. At the second stage, "social man" seeks the best for a group of people within the perspective of neoclassical economics. At the third stage, "ecological man" is aware of the interrelatedness between economy and nature. Within ecological economics the agent is termed "ecological man" to indicate the interconnectedness between economy and the ecosystems. While being aware of the weakness in predictive power inherent in these kinds of stage theories, we find it stimulating to conclude with a description of economics based upon the ideas characterizing the highest level (stage 7) in Kohlberg's theory. We put forward a hypothesis concerning a fourth stage in the development of economics termed neo-ecological economics. We describe the economic actor as "cosmic man". "Cosmic man" has an extended self and incorporates all the other images of man.

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  • Ingebrigtsen, Stig & Jakobsen, Ove, 2009. "Moral development of the economic actor," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(11), pages 2777-2784, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:68:y:2009:i:11:p:2777-2784
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Joseph Persky, 1995. "The Ethology of Homo Economicus," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 9(2), pages 221-231, Spring.
    2. Becker, Christian, 2006. "The human actor in ecological economics: Philosophical approach and research perspectives," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 17-23, November.
    3. Faber, Malte, 2008. "How to be an ecological economist," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 1-7, May.
    4. Ayres, Robert U., 2008. "Sustainability economics: Where do we stand?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 281-310, September.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Ingebrigtsen, Stig & Jakobsen, Ove, 2012. "Utopias and realism in ecological economics — Knowledge, understanding and improvisation," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 84-90.
    3. Nhu Tuyên Lê & Marjolijn Bloemmen & Roxana Bobulescu & Claudio Vitari, 2015. "Microeconomic degrowth: The case of Community Supported Agriculture," Post-Print halshs-01923276, HAL.
    4. Nhu Tuyên Lê & Marjolijn Bloemmen & Roxana Bobulescu & Claudio Vitari, 2015. "Microeconomic degrowth: The case of Community Supported Agriculture," Grenoble Ecole de Management (Post-Print) halshs-01923276, HAL.
    5. Schäpke, Niko & Rauschmayer, Felix, 2012. "Addressing sufficiency: Including altruistic motives in behavioural models for sustainability transitions," UFZ Discussion Papers 17/2012, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Division of Social Sciences (ÖKUS).
    6. Levine, Jordan & Chan, Kai M.A. & Satterfield, Terre, 2015. "From rational actor to efficient complexity manager: Exorcising the ghost of Homo economicus with a unified synthesis of cognition research," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 22-32.
    7. Bardal, Kjersti Granås, 2020. "Contradictory outcomes of cost-benefit analyses – Findings from Norwegian public-investment projects," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    8. Roberta Gabriela Basílio & Mateus Canniatti Ponchio & Rafaela Almeida Cordeiro, 2024. "Examining unethical sales practices in retail banking: a hermeneutic analysis of employee perceptions in Brazil," Journal of Financial Services Marketing, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 29(4), pages 1304-1317, December.
    9. Antonio Tencati & Laszlo Zsolnai, 2012. "Collaborative Enterprise and Sustainability: The Case of Slow Food," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 110(3), pages 345-354, October.
    10. Rauschmayer, Felix & Bauler, Tom & Schäpke, Niko, 2015. "Towards a thick understanding of sustainability transitions — Linking transition management, capabilities and social practices," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 211-221.
    11. Claudia Elena Paicu, 2014. "The Communication Process In The Business Environment. Economic And Moral Principles From The Perspective Of Sustainable Development," Annals - Economy Series, Constantin Brancusi University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 1, pages 160-165, February.
    12. Bloemmen, Marjolijn & Bobulescu, Roxana & Le, Nhu Tuyen & Vitari, Claudio, 2015. "Microeconomic degrowth: The case of Community Supported Agriculture," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 110-115.

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