Ethics and Order of the Free Market

Description

The present study analyzes the work of Wilhelm Röpke, a German economist and sociologist, who lived at the beginning of the 20th century (1899-1966). Together with Ludwig Erhard, the first German minister of Economic Affairs after WW II, and other intellectuals of his time, such as Walter Eucken and Alfred Müller-Armack, Röpke developed the theoretical and political foundations of what later would be known the German Social Market Economy. This work takes the perspective of political philosophy in analyzing Röpke’s opus, specifically when it asks what philosophical approaches lie behind his concept of “right economic order”, as well as his prescriptions about what constitutes the moral framework at the basis of a free market system effectively promoting human flourishing. The study also looks at the analogies which exist between the fundamental principle of decentrism, a concept underlying Röpke’s political ethics, and the fundamental principles of Catholic Social...