Abstract
The article traces in the book of Genesis (1) theoretical and (2) methodic elements of an institutional economics: (la) the idea of capital contribution-distribution interactions as model of social exchange; (lb) the idea of incentive structures as model of an institutional regulative for social exchange; (1c) the practical-normative goal of pareto-superiority (mutuality of gains) as desired interaction outcome; (2a) the methodic concept of conflicting and common interests in contribution-distribution interactions (the idea of a dilemma structure, or “war of all”, as Hobbes called it); and (2b) the methodic concept of self-interested choice behaviour (the homo economicus, or “methodological individualism” as Hayek referred to it). On these grounds, Genesis is deciphered and reconstructed in institutional economic terms. The article develops and explores the hypotheses (i) that the stories of Genesis reflect an intense interest and attempt to come to terms with the institutional problem: of how to ensure cooperation in social interactions, and (ii) that the stories of Genesis address the institutional problem in economic terms, examining social conflict as capital contribution-distribution interactions, advising on the pareto-effectiveness of conflict resolution in relation to incentive structures, and methodically grounding analysis in the ideas of the dilemma structure and the homo economicus. An economic reconstruction of Genesis questions conventional theological suggestions on the role and extent to which the Bible invokes metaphysical concepts and metaphysical intervention for analyzing and solving social problems.
Highlights
The article traces in the book of Genesis (1) theoretical and (2) methodic elements of an institutional economics: (1a) the idea of capital contribution-distribution interactions as model of social exchange; (1b) the idea of incentive structures as model of an institutional regulative for social exchange; (1c) the practical-normative goal of pareto-superiority as desired interaction outcome; (2a) the methodic concept of conflicting and common interests in contribution-distribution interactions; and (2b) the methodic concept of selfinterested choice behaviour
What differentiates a theological interpretation of biblical thought from an economic one as pursued in this paper is that ideas on social ordering and institutional mechanisms for resolving social conflict are reconstructed in scientific economic terms, by drawing on non-metaphysical and non-behavioural ideas
The present paper suggests that metaphysical ideas can be reconceptualised by an institutional economics without the apriori postulation of certain pre-scientific concepts, deciphering and reconstructing them through the very methodic and theoretical elements that make up the institutional economic approach (See Wagner-Tsukamoto forthcoming: Chapter 8)
Summary
This paper examines how far Bible stories can be coherently and comprehensively brought under a scientific economic scheme of analysis. If economics were not a moral science, which aimed at the generation of socially desirable outcomes, it would be difficult to comprehend why the moral philosopher Adam Smith, after decades of research in a behaviourial moral philosophy, should have favoured the economic approach to analyze social problems of modern society (Homann 1990: 4-5; see Iannaccone 1998: 1465) This suggestion is reinforced by the present paper by outlining that biblical stories can be reconstructed as a body of thought which examines – for moral reasons – problems in social behaviour in economic terms. A reconstruction of biblical thought in economic terms may encourage a reevaluation of economics' status as a moral science
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