The quest for an axiological reorientation of economic science

Abstract

The article draws on the consideration that, especially after the Second World War, economics started favouring its alliance with technical reason, loosening its previous ties with practical reason. In so doing, the discipline has considerably developed its technical-analytical apparatus, but at the price of diminishing its capacity to come to grip grips with the most intriguing problems of present-day reality. It is a fact that technical advancements may offer answers, but are unable to ask the right questions. The reductionist stance of mainstream economics is put to a test in regard to two areas of inquiry: finance theory and the economics of happiness paradox. The thesis defended is that an axiological re-orientation of economic science is urgently required. To this end, the proposal of the civil economy paradigm, as an alternative to the political economy one, is put forward. The suggestion is that the civil economy perspective represents a viable route to overcome the serious aporias of the discipline, that jeopardize its scientific and social relevance.