Utility and identity: A catholic social teaching perspective on the economics of good and evil

Clemens Sedmak

doi:10.1177/0953946814565985

Utility and identity: A catholic social teaching perspective on the economics of good and evil

Clemens Sedmak^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

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1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper discusses two key claims of Tomas Sedláček’s Economics of Good and Evil in the light of Catholic social teaching—that (i) mainstream economics cannot grasp the domain of the human because of its focus on ‘utility-maximisation’ and (ii) that human interiority with its wild desires is at the roots of economic dynamics. I call these claims the ‘H-claim’ and the ‘I-claim’ respectively. After having clarified these claims I look at Catholic social teaching and its perspective on interiority (underlining a sense of structure and order of the inner) and on the relationship between personal micro-relations and structural macro-relations (underlining consistency and permeability). In this light, I suggest, in a third step, an understanding of ‘the inner dimension’ of economics and social thinking making use of the concept of intangible infrastructures.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	461-477
Number of pages	17
Journal	Studies in Christian Ethic
Volume	28
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/0953946814565985
Publication status	Published - 1 Jan 2015

Keywords

Catholic social teaching
Economics
Good and evil
Identity
Tomas Sedláček

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10.1177/0953946814565985

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abstract = "This paper discusses two key claims of Tomas Sedl{\'a}{\v c}ek{\textquoteright}s Economics of Good and Evil in the light of Catholic social teaching—that (i) mainstream economics cannot grasp the domain of the human because of its focus on {\textquoteleft}utility-maximisation{\textquoteright} and (ii) that human interiority with its wild desires is at the roots of economic dynamics. I call these claims the {\textquoteleft}H-claim{\textquoteright} and the {\textquoteleft}I-claim{\textquoteright} respectively. After having clarified these claims I look at Catholic social teaching and its perspective on interiority (underlining a sense of structure and order of the inner) and on the relationship between personal micro-relations and structural macro-relations (underlining consistency and permeability). In this light, I suggest, in a third step, an understanding of {\textquoteleft}the inner dimension{\textquoteright} of economics and social thinking making use of the concept of intangible infrastructures.",

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Utility and identity: A catholic social teaching perspective on the economics of good and evil

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