Can economics be moral? Why vice should not win over virtue: Part II

In our first article (Ipag Letter n°12), we argued that economic relations have nothing to do with morals. However, the paradox is that the economy cannot function without a certain form of morality, and the present article adds to our previous reflections (Ipag Letter n°13). The economy is made up of individuals who are moral beings endowed with the ability to distinguish between good and bad. The generalised practice of vice, as rehabilitated by Mandeville, obviously has its limitations. The search for person-al satisfaction is restrained by the need to take other people into consideration. While the economy and capitalism may be amoral, individuals are not.