Economics without ethics is a caricature. Ethics without economics is a fairy tale.
In 1759, Adam Smith wrote 'The Theory of Moral Sentiments' and 15 years later he came up with one of his best works, the Magnum Opus of economics — 'The wealth of nations'. Not many people know this but it was 'the theory of moral sentiments' that provided the ethical, philosophical , psychological and methodological underpinnings to Smith's later works. They may seem like two distant words but economy and ethics are interdependent. Economics without ethics: Gospel of selfishness According to Oxfam International report, 73% of the wealth generated in 2017 worldwide was possessed by richest 1% making up for 900 million poor people. An economy without ethics further deepens the cracks of inequality by creating more poverty , crime and injustice. Similarly the covid-19 vaccine crisis has revealed the inadequacy of capitalism to fulfill societal needs. It led to the clash between needs of humanity and principles of economy. Countries are arguing that...