Moral economy: What’s in a name

• Published in: Anthropological theory Vol. 18; no. 1; pp. 18 - 35
• Main Author: Carrier, James G
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.03.2018; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Anthropology; Economic activity; Economics; Ethics; Meaning; Moral economy; Morality; Social sciences; Social theories; anthropology of economy; neoclassical economics; moral economy; EP Thompson; James C Scott

The idea of moral economy has been increasingly popular in the social sciences over the past decade, given a confusing variety of meanings and sometimes invoked as an empty symbol. This paper begins by describing this state of affairs and some of its undesirable corollaries, which include unthinking...