Sergio Cesaratto
Morality and Alternative Economic Theories in Ancient History Studies: a Review Article
Working Paper DEPS, USiena n.923 - Dicembre 2024
Abstract
The book "Models, Methods, and Morality" discusses moral values in the field of ancient economic history, where neoclassical hegemony in the form of the New Institutional Economics has progressively gained ground. The book mainly criticises mainstream economics for focusing on quantitative growth without much regard to its social consequences. The spirit of this review is a constructive encouragement to build an alternative approach to economic history possibly based on the classical economists’ surplus approach, taking also advantage of the familiarity that scholars of ancient societies have with the concept of economic surplus. The risk is that without a resolute criticism of mainstream economics and the adoption of an alternative point of view, mainstream economics might paternalistically reabsorb the legitimate moral criticism that pervades many of the contributions to the volume. Being based on a simple heuristic of the economic sources of the élites’ wealth and not possessing a pre-packaged view of human behaviour, surplus theory may usefully be at the core of a socially sensitive, economic history agenda.
