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Cambridge Journal of Economics Advance Access originally published online on March 14, 2006
Cambridge Journal of Economics 2007 31(1):25-40; doi:10.1093/cje/bel003
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Cambridge Political Economy Society. All rights reserved.

Rethinking economics: the potential contribution of the classics

José Castro Caldas*, Ana Narciso Costa* and Tom R. Burns**

* DINÂMIA—ISCTE, Lisbon
** Uppsala University, Sweden

Address for correspondence: José Castro Caldas, ISCTE, Av. Das Forças Armadas, 1649-026 Lisbon, Portugal; e-mail: jmcc{at}iscte.pt

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.

Key Words: Social order • Classical political economy • Marginalism • Commitment • Association

JEL classifications: B00, Z13

Manuscript received July 26, 2004; final version received November 23, 2005.


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