The Economy of Esteem is a book by Geoffrey Brennan and Philip Pettit describing the role of self-esteem and honour in the economy. It was published in 2005 by Oxford University Press.
According to Brennan, others who have historically paid attention to the role of esteem in motivation include: "from Cicero and Polybius through Thomas Aquinas to Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, Hume, the American Founding Fathers, Kant, and notably Adam Smith" Though Brennan argues that modern 'invisible hand' economics neglects the importance of esteem.
Evidence:
"the behavior of suicide bombers in terrorist cadres; or the enthusiasm with which soldiers volunteer in situations of imminent warfare; or the stability of apparently perverse norms, like the caste system in India. What of the intense training, commitment and effort expended by athletes – even amateur athletes?"
What is unique about esteem among currencies
- esteem can't be traded- "esteem is necessarily produced under conditions of autarky"
- esteem is subject to the paradox of hedonism
Famous quotes containing the words economy and/or esteem:
“The basis of political economy is non-interference. The only safe rule is found in the self-adjusting meter of demand and supply. Do not legislate. Meddle, and you snap the sinews with your sumptuary laws.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“The things we now esteem fixed shall, one by one, detach themselves, like ripe fruit, from our experience, and fall. The wind shall blow them none knows whither.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)