Family and economics in nation building: an aristotelian perspective
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Abstract
Raphael Alvira reminds us that originally Economics meant the law or norm of the house or simply “household management”; whose other names are (oikia, domus, Haus) . He also suggests that there are three elements that form the basis of the family institution: namely, family intimacy, education and economics . Every state is a community and every community is established with a view to some good. The state itself is made up of many communities. Since therefore all people and all communities associate for the sake of some good, and the state is the highest community embracing all the other unities, then this self-sufficing state must aim at the highest good and its origin must be a union of those who cannot exist without each other; namely, of male and female, that the race may continue . From this first natural union follows other types of associations such as that of parent-child and master-servant and associations of friendships until the highest which is the self-sufficing community. Gary Stanley Becker, who was honoured with the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1992, wrote a book called Human Capital in 1975. He reminded us that when we think of capital we associate it with money in the bank or capital stock or steel plants . We forget that good parental instruction, schooling, expenditures on medical care, begetting children and lectures on the virtues of punctuality and honesty are capital too and they improve health, raise earnings, and their good effects continue with a person throughout their life time. They are therefore capital just as much as the others and even more important. Suffice it to say that most of us here would easily attribute the best of our life’s learning to our parents or guardians. Modern economic theory nevertheless seems unconscious of the importance of the family institution. In its place is another rationale that has substituted it; sometimes positively and at times negatively affecting the family. Our thesis in this presentation is that economics as a discipline needs to embrace the reality of the natural society called ‘family’. Without good, stable and well managed families, economics lacks the firm foundation for stability and market growth.
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The 8th annual Ethics Conference