Kenneth W. Stikkers, "Rethinking Economics as Moral Philosophy," the 5th Hahn Lecture, July 27, 2019

The speaker introduces the Lewis Hahn Memorial Lecture, honoring his colleague Ken Stikkers. He reminisces about meeting Stikkers in 1990 at an ASAP meeting and commends Stikkers' dedication to an idealistic moral approach, even in the face of bureaucracy, contrasting it with Machiavellian realism. Stikkers' unwavering commitment to 'the way things ought to be' is highlighted as a defining characteristic, shaping his influence on others and his role in the department.

Ken Stikkers expresses his honor to deliver the Lewis Hahn lecture, remembering Hahn's fidelity to students and his passionate dedication to philosophical accuracy. Stikkers then uses an old joke about a successful surgery but a dead patient to illustrate the disconnect between economic progress and actual well-being, especially concerning climate change. He critiques common economic measurements like GDP, viewing them as indicators of accelerated disaster, and refers to Husserl's 'crisis of economic science,' where economic accounts are out of sync with human and environmental reality.

Stikkers quotes economist E.F. Schumacher on the overriding power of 'uneconomic' as a condemnation, noting how moral, aesthetic, or environmental concerns are dismissed if they impede economic growth. He identifies himself as a philosopher of economics, focusing on the underlying philosophical assumptions of economic theories rather than just methodology. Stikkers explains his central concern: how economics, once rooted in moral philosophy, became detached, leading to 'the Great Divorce' or 'matricide,' where the 'child' (economics) killed its 'mother' (moral philosophy).

Stikkers discusses the need to rethink economics as encompassing human flourishing and the human good, questioning the connection between economic growth/development and human growth/development. He recounts an anecdote about his economics class, where graduate students struggled to grasp this connection. He references economist Kenneth Boulding's analogy of different types of growth (healthy tissue, fat, cancer) to critique how economists value all growth equally, noting that cancer can even boost GDP due to treatment costs.

Stikkers explains his historical method, drawing from phenomenology and Husserl's 'crisis of European science'—the gap between scientific accounts and lived human experience. He applies this to economics, observing a disconnect between economists' views and people's lived realities, as evidenced by Brexit, Polish elections, and Trump's election. He recounts his frustration teaching business ethics, criticizing the case study approach for ignoring systemic issues within capitalism and the knee-jerk reaction against any critique of the system.

Stikkers discusses his intense study of Adam Smith, noting that the historical Smith differs from the one presented in economic textbooks. He highlights Smith's lack of kind words for 'capitalists' (merchants and manufacturers) and his support for workers. This led Stikkers to explore gift economies, particularly through his experiences with Lakota Sioux and Northwest indigenous peoples. He contrasts the economic assumption of scarcity with the indigenous celebration of nature's bounty, leading to his concept of 'pre-theoretical ontological dispositions' or 'feelings for the world'.

Stikkers contrasts the core assumptions of orthodox economics and gift economies. Orthodox economics, influenced by Robbins, assumes infinite human wants and a 'niggardly' nature, leading to scarcity and competition. Gift economies, informed by scholars like Mauss and Sahlins, experience nature as plentiful and overflowing, with life itself seen as a gift, and exchange based on gratitude and plenitude. Sahlins' irony is noted: the concept of scarcity was invented by the world's wealthiest people. This difference also shapes the understanding of human nature: self-interested in scarcity-based economies, and relational in gift economies.

Stikkers contrasts the 'atomistic self' of orthodox economics, whose identity is independent of others, with the 'relational self' of gift economies, where identity is rooted in a network of relationships. He suggests Adam Smith's 'self-interest properly understood' might allude to this relational understanding. Stikkers then shifts to the historical 'Great Transformation' – the enclosure movement. He explains how common lands were privatized, changing the feudal system's stewardship model. Thomas More's 'Utopia' is cited, vividly describing how sheep 'devoured' people, as land was converted to sheep pastures for profit.

Stikkers recounts More's description of enclosures, highlighting the eviction of farmers and the devastation of communities. He connects this historical process to contemporary immigration crises, arguing that similar forces continue to displace small farmers globally. He emphasizes that enclosure was not just an economic upheaval but a profound rupture in the moral fabric of society, as economic forces refused to be bound by traditional morality or law. He cites Bronner and Tawney on the destructive nature of this 'revolution of the rich against the poor,' dissolving customary relationships and creating a new class of beggars and thieves.

Stikkers discusses three striking aspects of Adam Smith's work: first, his divergence from modern economic textbook portrayals; second, his revolutionary idea that justice can exist without virtue, enabled by the 'invisible hand'; and third, his admiration for Isaac Newton. He explains how Smith's concept of the 'invisible hand' fractured the tradition of moral reasoning, leading to utilitarianism (focused on outcomes) and deontological ethics (focused on intent). Smith's notion that virtue is merely an 'ornament' rather than a necessity for a just society marks a significant departure in Western thought.

Stikkers explains Smith's admiration for Newton, specifically the concepts of gravity and counterbalancing forces to describe market equilibrium (supply and demand). He points out the desire of moral philosophers to emulate the progress of natural sciences. Jeremy Bentham's idea of assigning mathematical values to human utility, later linked to units of currency by Marshall, further pushed economics towards becoming a 'full-blown science' modeled on Newtonian mechanics. This lead to a 'great divorce' or 'matricide' where economics separated from moral philosophy, with economists claiming to be the 'true ethicists' using mathematical certainty, displacing speculative moral philosophy.

An audience member questions the problematic lack of dialogue between philosophy and economics, especially given the evolution of modern economic practices beyond simple growth models. Stikkers recounts his past frustrations in fostering such dialogue, noting the mutual disdain between the two fields. He highlights the brief resurgence of interest in moral philosophy among economists after the 2008 financial crisis, but observes its short-lived nature. Another attendee asks what social philosophers should do given the perceived usurpation of moral judgment by economists. Stikkers suggests engaging in public philosophy and reminding people of things in life 'beyond price'.

Stikkers emphasizes the critical role of history in philosophy, particularly for 'freezing' the imagination by revealing that economic concepts, often treated as eternal truths, are human constructs with a history. He advocates for fostering imaginative thinking beyond stale dichotomies. Building on a question about 'economic life,' Stikkers clarifies that he refers to economic activity as experienced by actors, highlighting the gap between professional economists' narratives and people's lived realities. He references Thorstein Veblen's approach of observing actual behavior to understand economic life, distinguishing it from mere 'economic activities' to encompass a richer, more meaningful existence.