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Social morality and the primacy of individual perspectives

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  • Gerald Gaus

    (Department of Philosophy)

Abstract

This paper examines themes and concerns about my book, The Order of Public Reason, raised in the three essays in this symposium by Peter Boettke & Rosolino Candela, Michael Munger and Kevin Vallier. The three essays present variations on a common theme: I need to embrace deeper commitments than The Order of Public Reason acknowledges. In my estimation these proposals lead to places that I do not wish to go — nor should anyone devoted to core Hayekian insights. The goal of the book is show how a diversity of moral views can lead to a cooperative social morality while abjuring as far as possible “external” moral claims — claims that do not derive from the perspectives of cooperating individuals. The diverse individual moral perspectives, and what they understand as normative, must be the real engines of social normativity. In this essay I stress the primacy of the individual normative perspectives in generating social morality; this helps show why the urge to embrace deeper commitments should be resisted. Rather than going over the presentation in The Order of Public Reason to stress this point, I sketch a modest recasting of the analysis in terms of models of individual moral interaction.

Suggested Citation

  • Gerald Gaus, 2017. "Social morality and the primacy of individual perspectives," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 30(3), pages 377-396, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:revaec:v:30:y:2017:i:3:d:10.1007_s11138-016-0358-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s11138-016-0358-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Astrid Hopfensitz & Ernesto Reuben, 2009. "The Importance of Emotions for the Effectiveness of Social Punishment," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 119(540), pages 1534-1559, October.
    2. Bicchieri, Cristina & Erte, Xiao, 2007. "Do the right thing: But only if others do so," MPRA Paper 4609, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Kevin Vallier, 2017. "Gaus, Hayek, and the place of civil religion in a free society," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 30(3), pages 327-352, September.
    4. Bicchieri,Cristina, 2006. "The Grammar of Society," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521574907, September.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Morality; Coordination; Justification; Rules; Public reason;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B2 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925
    • B53 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Austrian
    • P11 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Planning, Coordination, and Reform
    • P16 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Capitalist Institutions; Welfare State

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