Economics for Humans E C O N O M I C S for Humans Julie A.Nelson The University of Chicago Press Chicago and London JULIE A.NELSON is an economist at the Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University.She is author of Feminism, Objectivity,and Economics,coauthor of Microeconomics in Context,and coeditor of Beyond Economic ManandFeminist Economics Today. The University of Chicago Press,Chicago 60637 The University of Chicago Press,Ltd.,London ©2006byThe University of Chicago All rights reserved.Published 2006 Printed in the United States of America 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 1 2 3 4 5 isbn-13:978-0-226-57202-4(cloth) isbn-10:0-226-57202-1(cloth) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Nelson,Julie A.,1956– Economics for humans/Julie A.Nelson. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 0-226-57202-1(cloth :alk.paper) 1. Economics—Moral and ethical aspects. 2. Economic man. 3. Feminist economics. I. Title. HB72.N445 2006 174—dc22 2005034406 The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ansi z39.48-1992. In memory of Martha E.Nelson (1923–2004) Contents Acknowledgments ix 1 Introduction 1 9 Tending the Body:The History of Economics 2 27 Tending the Soul:The Defense of“Noneconomic Values” 3 41 Bringing Body and Soul Together 4 63 Love andMoney? The Question of Individual Motivation 5 87 BusinessandEthics?The Question of Organizational Behavior 6 115 Keeping Body and Soul Together 129 Notes 141 Index Acknowledgments If I personally thanked every person who has helped me on this book project, my acknowledgments would go on for far too many pages.Suffice it to say that my most grateful appreciation goes to my friends and fellow social scientists Nancy Folbre and Paula England.Iulie Aslaksen,Viviana Zelizer,and Nancy Tuana also provided inspiration and support at important junctures, while Sue Himmelweit and Lynn Stout were generous with comments.Dialogues with Ann-Cathrin Jarl,John B.Cobb Jr., Catherine Keller,and David Loy were invaluable in helping me refine my arguments concerning social ethics.The efforts of my editor at the University of Chicago Press, J.Alex Schwartz, brought this project to fruition. 2000 2001 Spending the – academic year as a fellow at the Center for the Study of Values in Public Life at Harvard Divin- ity School was crucial for getting this project rolling.Although the center no longer exists,I thank the selection committee,the