Cultural Naturalism and the Market God

• Main Author: Denenny, David Timothy
• Format: Others
• Published: OpenSIUC 2018
• Subjects: Economics; Naturalism; Neoclassical; Pragmatism; Religion; Sociology
• Online Access: https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/theses/2464; https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3478&context=theses

This work employs John Dewey's cultural naturalism to explore how and why the orthodox economic tradition functions as a religious faith.Scholars such as the theologian Harvey Cox and others now view orthodox economic practice as a religion. Other scholars such as Max Weber, Alasdair MacIntyre, and numerous others view modern economic practice as exemplifying a particular ethic. The focus in this work is placed upon the destructive consequences of practicing the Market faith. This work argues that much of contemporary economic practice maintains a view of science that is incompatible with the kind of naturalism found in Classical American Pragmatism. The history of the development of economics as a religious faith is explored beginning in the seventeenth-century up to the present day. The philosophical assumptions that have composed this relatively new faith are analyzed in detail. The conclusion provides an account of what we may hope for in the future.