Civilizing the economy : a new economics of provision

Description

When a handful of people thrive while whole industries implode and millions suffer, it is clear that something is wrong with our economy. The wealth of the few is disconnected from the misery of the many. In Civilizing the Economy, Marvin Brown traces the origin of this economics of dissociation to early capitalism, showing how this is illustrated in Adam Smith's denial of the central role of slavery in wealth creation. In place of the Smithian economics of property, Brown proposes that we turn to the original meaning of economics as household management. He presents a new framework for the global economy that reframes its purpose as the making of provisions instead of the accumulation of property. This bold new vision establishes the civic sphere as the platform for organizing an inclusive economy and as a way to move toward a more just and sustainable world Creating a just and sustainable economy -- Creating a new economic framework. Adam Smith's silence and an economics of property ; Reclaiming the notions of provision and family ; Making provisions in a dangerous world -- The civic option. From property relations to civic relations ; Society, civil society, and the market ; Restoring reciprocity ; Civic norms and market competition -- A civic view of labor, land, and money. Labor : employment as engagement ; Land : ownership as a concession ; Money : commodity or credit -- Civilizing economic systems. A world of systems ; Imagining a stakeholder economy ; The ethics of economic systems ; Changing systems of provision -- A civic agenda. The civic obligations of corporations ; Creating circumstances for civic conversations -- Appendix. Free enterprise and the economics of slavery