Title: Macroeconomics must have an ethical foundation

Authors: Finn Olesen

Addresses: Aalborg University Business School, Aalborg University, Fibigerstraede 11, 9220 Aalborg Oest, Denmark

Abstract: With the recent international crisis as a revelation, mainstream macroeconomics has been subject to a lot of criticism. Why only teach the mainstream story of a well-functioning economy that performs almost to perfection letting the economy in general operate closely around the intertemporal equilibrium path of harmony? In addition, mainstream macroeconomics could also be exposed to a different kind of criticism. What about ethical aspects? Should macroeconomics concern itself with questions of morality? Must macroeconomics have an ethical foundation? This paper discusses these questions.

Keywords: macroeconomics; post-Keynesianism; ethics; morality.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPEE.2021.120139

International Journal of Pluralism and Economics Education, 2021 Vol.12 No.2, pp.138 - 151

Accepted: 12 Sep 2021
Published online: 07 Jan 2022 *

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