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MORAL ECONOMY: CLAIMS for the COMMON GOOD by Elizabeth D

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MORAL ECONOMY: CLAIMS for the COMMON GOOD by Elizabeth D MORAL ECONOMY: CLAIMS FOR THE COMMON GOOD By Elizabeth D. Mauritz A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Philosophy – Doctor of Philosophy 2014 ABSTRACT MORAL ECONOMY: CLAIMS FOR THE COMMON GOOD By Elizabeth D. Mauritz The cases, issues, and theoretical convictions of the social science work on the concept ‘Moral Economy’ are explored to develop a full understanding of what divergent theories and accounts share in common and to gauge the philosophical relevance of Moral Economy. The work of E.P. Thompson, James Scott, William Booth, Thomas Arnold, and Daniel Little are featured along with contemporary cases of Moral Economy. Conceptual clarification is guided by the categorization of common qualities including the scope of application, whether it is used historically or normatively, relevant time frame, nature of the community, goals that motivate practitioners, and how people are epistemically situated in relation to the Moral Economy under consideration. Moral Economy is identified here as a community centered response, arising from a sense of common good, reinforced by custom or tradition, to an unjust appropriation or abuse of land, labor, human dignity, natural resources, or material goods; moreover, it is the regular behaviors producing social arrangements that promote just relations between unequal persons or groups within a community to achieve long-term social sustainability. I argue that the moral economists are right to insist that people regularly make collective claims and take action on behalf of their communities for reasons that are not primarily self-interested. Furthermore, I demonstrate that social ethics and political behavior are culturally and temporally contextual, i.e. non-ideal. Moral Economy must be understood as economic through behaviors and relationships of exchange not limited to the market or following (neo)classical economics. Importantly, Moral Economy recognizes that this system of exchange is embedded within the larger society. Building upon that, I maintain that all communities are embedded to some degree, so Moral Economy is not limited to peasant contexts or historical periods. It is not an ethical theory, but a system of practice. Moral Economy is guided by a commitment to the ethos of the common good. The debate between Moral Economy and political economy is laid out with special attention given to the disagreements between their two most identifiable figures, James C. Scott and Samuel L. Popkin. While Moral Economy and political economy may have originated from the same general considerations regarding the political and economic influence on individuals and society, they have taken distinctly different trajectories. Later Moral Economy is compared with several political philosophies including Liberalism, Socialism, and Anarchism. While Moral Economy may share more in common with Anarchism and Socialism, I contend it is more compatible in practice with Liberalism. Key words : common good, community, embedded economy, justice, moral philosophy, peasants, reciprocity, social philosophy For Elaine and Chris with eternal love and gratitude. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost I thank my advisor, Paul B. Thompson, who introduced the subject of Moral Economy to me and supported my further exploration into the topic. He motivated the pursuit of certain lines of inquiry and helped me see the value in the project as a whole when it seemed difficult to envision anything beyond a demanding section. His wise reminder that it is important to state the obvious factored into my project. Dr. Thompson was also encouraging throughout my winding and tumultuous path to completion. I am sincerely appreciative of his guidance and support. Each of my committee members, Richard Peterson, Stephen Esquith, Tamra Frei, and Kyle P. Whyte, have contributed valuable guidance, raised challenging questions, constructive comments, and suggested valuable directions for further development throughout the development of the dissertation. Thank you to Dick, Stephen, Tamra, and Kyle for your beneficial contributions to this scholarship and your consistent mentorship. Julie Eckinger has also been valuable throughout my Ph.D. program and completing the dissertation. Thank you Julie for all you do to manage schedules, coordinate events, meetings, edit documents, and generally create a smooth path through a complicated institutional landscape. Thank you to my fellow graduate students who have taken this journey with me. My cohort, as well as individuals who started at different times, created an academic community which supported this process and shaped my work and development from student to academic. Finally, my family has been the backbone of my academic work. Vielen Dank. Bahut Dhanyavaad. v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ……………………………………………………………………….…….. ix CHAPTER 1: Principal Contributions to Moral Economy in Academic Literature ……………. 1 Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………... 1 Philosophy and Moral Economy ………………………………………………………... 4 E.P. Thompson and Moral Economy of the English Crowd ……………………………. 6 James Scott and Agrarian Peasants of Southeast Asia …………………………………. 12 Moral Economy of Joint Forestry Management in India……………………………….. 17 Social Science Applications of Moral Economy ………………………………………. 21 Goodman – Fair Trade Foods ………………………………………………………….. 23 Busch – Grades and Standards ………………………………………………………… 26 Arnold – Social Goods …………………………………………………………………. 28 Humanities Applications of Moral Economy ………………………………………...... 31 Daniel Little – Peasant China ………………………………………………………….. 32 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………... 33 CHAPTER 2: Clarifying the Concept ‘Moral Economy’………………………………………. 35 Introduction …………………………………………………………………….………. 35 Challenges in Understanding Moral Economy ………………………………………… 36 Type of Theory – Normative or Descriptive/Historical ………………………………... 40 Scope of Application …………………………………………………………………… 42 Appropriate Time Frame ……………………………………………………………….. 44 Community …………………………………………………………………………….. 48 Goals Served by Moral Economy ……………………………………………………… 49 Fairness/Justice ………………………………………………………………… 50 Legitimacy ……………………………………………………………………... 56 Reciprocity ……………………………………………………………………... 60 Subsistence ……………………….………………………………………….…. 65 Common Good …………………………………………………………………. 68 Community Resilience …………………………………………………………. 70 Relationship to Moral Economy ……………………………………………………….. 73 Further Reflections on the Nature of ‘Moral Economy’ ………………………...……... 76 Definition of ‘Moral Economy’ ………………………………………………………... 77 Outside of the Circle ………………………………………………………………….... 79 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………... 81 CHAPTER 3: Context, Relationships, and Engagement: Economics, Ethics, Tradition, Protest, Resistance, and Embedded Economy …………………………………………………………. 83 Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………. 83 ‘Economy’ in Moral Economy ……………………………………………………….... 84 vi Relationship to Morality ……………………………………………………………….. 88 Not directly ethical ……………………………………………………………... 90 Motivated by personal values only …………………………………………….. 92 Motivated primarily by social values …………………………………………... 93 Connection to Law and Tradition …………………………………………………….... 96 Laws ……………………………………………………………………………. 96 Informal Tradition …………………………………………………………….... 98 Dynamic or Reactionary to Situation …………………………………………. 102 Rebellions and Protest ………………………………………………………………… 103 Moral Economy requires rebellion or protest ………………………………….104 Rebellion or protests are common occurrences, but not necessary for moral economy ………………………………………………………………. 106 Rebellion or protests are rare or coincidental, and not necessary …………….. 109 The Embedded Economy ……………………………………………………...…….... 111 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………. 119 CHAPTER 4: The Moral Economy vs. Political Economy Debate ………………………….. 121 Introduction …………………………………………………………………………... 121 Relationship to Political Economy …………………………………………………… 122 Subset of Political Economy …………………………………………………. 123 Unique from Political Economy ……………………………………………… 127 The Scott/Popkin Debate ……………………………………………………………... 129 Key Disagreements …………………………………………………………………… 131 Peasant Subsistence ………………………………………………………...… 131 Patron-client relationships ……………………………………………………. 132 Village structure ……………………………………………………………… 135 Investments and Gambles …………………………………………………….. 136 Free ridership …………………………………………………………………. 138 Reciprocity ……………………………………………………………………. 140 Rationality of individuals and social groups ………………………...………... 141 Protest and Rebellion …………………………………………………………. 142 Popkin’s false and misconstrued claims ……………………………………………… 150 Where Scott and Popkin find common ground ……………………………………….. 152 Dan Little’s analysis of the debate ………………………………………………….… 153 Other analyses of Political v. Moral Economy ………………………………………...157 Sayer ………………………………………………………………………….. 157 Feeny …………………………………………………………………..……... 161 Brocheux …………………………………………………………………….... 163 What the Moral Economy/ Political Economy debate can teach us ……………….…. 164 vii CHAPTER 5: In the Scheme of Things: Moral Economy and Political Philosophy ……….… 169 Introduction …………………………………………………………………………… 169 Liberalism …………………………………………………………….………………. 171 Liberty ………………………………………………………………………… 171 Rights …………………………………………………………………………. 173 Property ……………………………………………………………………….. 173 Equality ……………………………………………………………………….. 175 Individual Autonomy and Reason ……………………………………………. 176 Tolerance for diverse ideas of the good ……………………………………..... 177 Compatibility Analysis ……………………………………………………………….
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