America's Economic Moralists

251 Pages·2009·3.236 MB·English

by  Donald E. Frey

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5 ECONOMIC STUDIES / HISTORY America’s
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F
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rey ey Economic Moralists Since colonial times, two discernable schools
have debated major issues of economic morality
in America. The central norm of one morality is
A History of Rival Ethics and Economics
the freedom, or autonomy, of the individual and
DonAlD E. FrEy is Professor of
A defines virtues, vices, obligations, and rights by
Economics at Wake Forest University and
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how they contribute to that freedom. The other
the author of Tuition Tax Credits for Private e
r morality is relational and defines economic ethics
Education: An Economic Analysis.
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in terms of behaviors mandated by human con-
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a nectedness. America’s Economic Moralists shows
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how each morality has been composed of an ethi-

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cal outlook paired with a compatible economic
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theory, each supporting the other. Donald E.
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n Frey adopts a multidisciplinary approach, not
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only drawing upon historical economic thought,
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American religious thought, and ethics, but also
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c finding threads of economic morality in novels,
front cover photograph: Rhodes Mfg. Co., Lincolnton,
M government policies, and popular writings. He
N.C. Spinner. A moment’s glimpse of the outer world.
Said she was 10 years old. Been working over a year. o uses the history of these two supported yet very
1908november r different views to explain the culture of excess
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back cover photograph: Glass works. Midnight. that permeates the morality of today’s economic
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Indiana. 1908 August
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Photographs by lewis Wickes Hine,
STATE UnivErSiTy oF nEW york PrESS t
1874–1940 www.sunypress.edu s
SUNY
P R E S S Donald E. Frey
SUNY
K Y M C

America’s Economic Moralists
http://avaxhome.ws/blogs/ChrisRedfield

AMERICA’S ECONOMIC MORALISTS
A History of Rival Ethics and Economics
Donald E. Frey
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS
Published by
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS,ALBANY
© 2009 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
Nopart of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever
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without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
For information,contact
State University of New York Press,Albany,NY
www.sunypress.edu
Production by Laurie Searl
Marketing by Michael Campochiaro
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Frey,Donald E.,1941–
America’s economic moralists :a history of rival ethics and economics / Donald E.Frey.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-7914-9351-9 (hardcover :alk.paper)
1.Economists—United States—History.2.Economics—Moral and ethical aspects—
United States.3.Economics—Sociological aspects—United States.4.Social ethics—
United States—History.5.Economics—United States—History.I.Title.
HB119.A3F73 2009
174.092'27—dc22
2008042320
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Chapter One 1
Introduction
Chapter Two 13
Colonial Faith:Work,Wealth,and the
Wider Welfare
Chapter Three 25
Acting for Self’s Sake:The Later Colonial Era
Chapter Four 35
Laissez-Faire for Americans
Chapter Five 49
Ethics Better than the Morals of Hermits
Chapter Six 61
Religious Socialism:The Communal Moravians
Chapter Seven 75
Abolition: Human Dignity as a Boundary
to Markets
Chapter Eight 87
Social Darwinists of Different Species
vi CONTENTS
Chapter Nine 101
New Influences in Economics
Chapter Ten 115
The Social Gospel and Catholic Thought
Around 1900
Chapter Eleven 131
The 1920s and 1930s: Depressed Old Values
Chapter Twelve 147
Too Agnostic,Too Certain:Welfare Economics,
Chicago Economics
Chapter Thirteen 163
Moralists of Twentieth-Century Capitalism
Chapter Fourteen 177
Unconventional Alternatives to the
Conventional Wisdom
Chapter Fifteen 191
An Ecumenical Consensus on Economic Ethics
Chapter Sixteen 205
Summary,Assessments,and a Projection
Notes 217
Works Cited 225
Index 233
Acknowledgments
My thanks are due to the Archives of the Moravian Church in America,
Southern Province,for permission to cite their unpublished document,Broth-
erly Agreement and Contract of the Evangelische Brüder-Gemeine at Salem in
North Carolina,1773.
In addition, I thank Wake Forest University for providing two research
leaves—one that launched this project several years ago and another that
helped to conclude it. I also appreciate the fact that the university and my
department have allowed me the freedom to design and teach courses on eco-
nomics and ethics. Exploring alternative economic moralities with students
has helped to clarify my ideas and to find ways to present them succinctly.
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