塩野谷祐一の経済倫理学

卓越主義の構想を中心に

抄録

Abstract: This article aims to demonstrate Yuichi Shionoya’s theory of economic ethics by classifying his study into early, middle, and later stages and focusing on his conception of perfectionism. His theory is composed of ethics and economics. In early and later stages, Shionoya proposes his notion of ethics as one category of liberal perfectionism by demonstrating the relationship between the concepts of justice, goodness, and virtue. Part of its originality is that it is defined as being compatible with the pursuit of common good, which is the main purpose of welfare economics. Moreover, he proposes three kinds of economics: economic sociology, economic statics, and economic dynamics in the middle and later stages. He argues that a society in which liberal perfectionism prevails can be realized by the elitist method that he demonstrates in economic sociology. Thus, Shionoya attempts to construct his economic ethics as “universal social science” by integrating the ideas of political philosophy and welfare economics and showing consistency in his entire study. This article questions the consistency of Shionoya’s theory of economic ethics. The rest of this article is organized as follows. First, we classify Shionoya’s study and show that his main purpose is to construct an alternative theory by criticizing neoclassical economics. Second, we clarify his view of perfectionism by showing his ethical system. We then outline his theory of economic ethics by analyzing his economics and clarifying his method of institutional reform. Finally, we express doubt as to whether reform can lead to his concept of an ideal society. JEL classification numbers: B31, O31.