Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 January 2023
Economists tend to have a bias towards faith in market forces. For many economists this is re-enforced by a libertarian social philosophy. Professional judgements made by such economists often reflect their social philosophy as much as the conclusions of purely economic analysis.
This is a revised and abridged version of the “Sir Robert Madgwick Lecture” given at the University of New England in May 1990. The original lecture has been published by the University under the title “Economics and Ideals: Has the Age of Chivalry Gone?”, I am indebted to Ken Rivett and Peter Kriesler for commenting on a draft of tie paper but the usual caveat applies