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Cambridge Journal of Economics Advance Access originally published online on December 21, 2005
Cambridge Journal of Economics 2006 30(5):767-781; doi:10.1093/cje/bei106
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© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Cambridge Political Economy Society. All rights reserved.

Article

The ontology of ‘the economic’: an Aristotelian analysis

Ricardo F. Crespo*

* Universidad Austral and Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas

Address for correspondence: Paraguay 1114, C1057 AAR Buenos Aires, Argentina; email: rcrespo{at}iae.edu.ar

Abstract

Tony Lawson's and Uskali Mäki's respective realist projects rely on an ontology of the economy. This paper will not focus on these research projects but will instead try to shed light on them by introducing an ontology of the economy according to Aristotle. Oikonomiké, the seminal term used by him, is not a noun but an adjective. For Aristotle, nouns express entities or beings, both self-sufficient beings and accidental properties. Adjectives almost always express accidents. What kind of being is ‘the economic’? This analysis will suggest some conclusions about the constraints of economic science and the need for institutions according to the peculiar ontological condition of ‘the economic’ as conceived by Aristotle.

Key Words: Realism • Ontology of economy • Aristotle

JEL classifications: B4, B31

Manuscript received May 23, 2003; final version received August 19, 2005.


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