Aristotle's Economic Thought and its Teachings for Contemporary Economics

CRESPO, RICARDO F.

Puerto Bories

Workshop; Humboldt-Kolleg Die Rezeption der Aristotelischen Politik in der Praktischen Philosophie Europas und Lateinamerikas; 2012

Fund. von Humboldt y Universiddad de los Andes

From the apparently outdated passages of Aristotle on oikonomikè I tried to extract some valid teachings for today. From those elements ?which may be abridged in the intrinsic ethical and political character of economics? we can extract useful lessons. These lessons refer to the impact of Ethics and Politics on Economics. They stress the relevance of personal virtues and institutions for a suitable functioning of the economy. From an epistemological perspective, these lessons highlight the inexact character of Economics and the necessity of firm reliance on data. The concern with ends may lead to prudential, not technical, analysis and decisions. This calls for broadening the scope of Economics and consequently should provoke changes in its teaching. Summing up, a closer attention to Aristotle would have a high impact on current economy and Economics.