Skip to main content
Kent Academic Repository

Political Economy of Virtue: Civil economy, happiness and public trust in the thought of Antonio Genovesi

Pabst, Adrian (2018) Political Economy of Virtue: Civil economy, happiness and public trust in the thought of Antonio Genovesi. European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, 25 (4). pp. 582-604. ISSN 0967-2567. E-ISSN 1469-5936. (doi:10.1080/09672567.2018.1487462) (KAR id:67224)

Abstract

Amid the growing literature in English on the work of the Neapolitan political economist Antonio Genovesi (1713-1769), this paper focuses on his conception of civil economy (economia civile) as a theory of government. By contrast with existing interpretations, the argument is that for Genovesi virtue is a significant ordering device of the polity: virtue mediates between passions and reason, and the human capacity for virtue helps individuals better to realise their different talents. This, in turn, means that virtue is central to the division of labour and the right proportions between different activities, including the balance between consumption and trade.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1080/09672567.2018.1487462
Uncontrolled keywords: civil economy; virtue; happiness; sympathy; reciprocity
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Politics and International Relations
Depositing User: Adrian Pabst
Date Deposited: 06 Jun 2018 21:59 UTC
Last Modified: 09 Dec 2022 02:37 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/67224 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

  • Depositors only (login required):

Total unique views for this document in KAR since July 2020. For more details click on the image.