Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics

Review of Ethics as Social Science: the Moral Philosophy of Social Cooperation, by Leland B. Yeager

The Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics
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Volume 6, No. 1 (Spring 2003)

 

Ethics and economics need to learn from one another. But what is it, precisely, that needs to be learned?  Here Yeager’s  answer is more controversial; he defends what might be called Austro-utilitarianism (the term is mine, not his), i.e., a version of utilitarianism informed by the concerns of the Austrian School and squarely in the tradition of MisesHazlitt, and Hayek, with a particular emphasis on the conditions for successful social cooperation. Yeager’s book makes an impressive case for an attractive Austro-utilitarian version of consequentialist moral theory, and replies convincingly to a number of common objections to and misunderstandings of utilitarianism in general. Nevertheless, I am inclined to resist his conclusions.

CITE THIS ARTICLE

Long, Roderick T. Review of Ethics as Social Science: the Moral Philosophy of Social Cooperation by Leland B. Yeager. The Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics 6, No. 1 (Spring 2003): 89–98.

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