In praise of functional morals and ethics

Abstract

ABSTRACT Building on the moral economy of Andrew Sayer and Dave Elder-Vass, this article advocates for a functional (not functionalist) approach to morals and ethics, and consequently to economics. By choosing words responsibly it aims to be an example of the conscientious attitude it advocates. In the first section, I find that Andrew Sayer's approach dovetails with Pierre Macherey's – notably due to Sayer's linking of the biological dependency and vulnerability of humans to realist ethics, via the key word needs. Ditto for Dave Elder-Vass and Macherey for similar reasons. Simplifying, the second section examines the contrary of biological models of norms: juridical models of norms, especially Kant's jurisprudence and Leon Walras's pure economics. The third section, Les valeurs de la vie, showcases Elder-Vass on how to build a functional economy. Then it further supports Macherey's proposals drawing on two of his main sources, Michel Foucault and Georges Canguilhem.