Drawing on recent work in the contemporary philosophy of economics, this book presents new ideas on liberalism, including the concept of ‘growth-oriented liberalism’.
Since the end of the Cold War, questions and definitions of liberalism have moved from the sphere of political systems (the socialism versus liberalism debates) to the sphere of ethics (what it means to live in a liberal society). The chapters in this work trace the trajectory of the concept of liberalism in the philosophy of economics by exploring the ideological implications of the methodological debate between socialism and liberalism, the idea of liberty as real freedom, the ethical implications of Max Weber’s methodology on autonomy and liberty, and new typological theories of ideologies in the context of contemporary economic ethics.
This book marks a significant contribution to the literature on liberalism in the philosophy of economics and economic methodology, and is highly recommended for readers who seek updated ideas on liberal society in its ethical and philosophical contexts.
Introduction
I Liberalism
1. A Theory of Real Freedom: Toward a Growth-Oriented Liberalism
2. On the Concept of Positive and Negative Liberty
3. On Spontanietism
II Philosophy of Economics, Part One: Methodology
4. The Purpose and Significance of the Methodology of the Social Sciences in an Age of Scientism
5. A Theory of Methodology in the Social Sciences: A Functional Analysis
6. Social Sciences and the Idea of a “Subject”: A Fundamental Issue in Max Weber Studies in Japan
7. On the “Problem Subject”
III Philosophy of Economics, Part Two: Economic Ethics
8. Ideological Categories in Economic Ethics
9. A Typological Theory of Ideologies in the Light of Recent Issues in Economic Ethics
10. Modernity, Postmodernity and Lost-Modernity on the Ethical Driving Forces of Capitalism
Biography
Tsutomu Hashimoto is a Professor at Hokkaido University and the President of the Synodos Institute of International Studies in Japan.
