Rethinking economics: the potential contribution of the classics

Mainstream views only admit two solutions to social order--separation and coercion. Understanding why association, as a principle of order came to be excluded calls for an incursion into the history of economic ideas. Association was dismissed because it depends on commitment--a human capacity that cannot be accommodated within the rational choice framework. The classics were aware of that. We argue that rational choice, as it was originally conceived, was not meant to be applied to contexts charged with moral force and social dilemmas. We next highlight sympathy in the work of Adam Smith as the basis for normative commitment and association. Finally, we discuss association in the light of several classic contributions and stress the relevance of these contributions to present-day debates and socio-economic challenges. Copyright 2007, Oxford University Press.