Anti-utilitarianism is a school of thought that critiques the hegemony of the epistemological postulates of economics in the humanities and social sciences. Anti-utilitarians assert the crucial importance of the social bond when compared to self-interest. They outline a gift exchange paradigm that aims to overstep two major frameworks of the social sciences: holism and methodological individualism. In 1981, the French sociologist, Alain Caillé, and the Swiss anthropologist, Gérald Berthoud, gave birth to MAUSS – Mouvement anti-utilitariste dans les sciences sociales (Anti-utilitarian Movement in the Social Sciences). This brilliant acronym reproduces the surname of the author of The Gift (1924), Marcel Mauss. Most anti-utilitarians reproach Latouche for the choice of the term “degrowth”: it implicitly embeds the alternative into the economic imaginary. They call, instead, for a “political” critique of boundlessness and excess, uprooting the discourse from an ethical level.
Romano, O. (2018). Antiutilitarismo. In G. D'Alisa F. Demaria G. Kallis (a cura di), Decrescita. Vocabolario per una nuova era (pp. 34-38). ITA : Jaca Book.
Antiutilitarismo
Romano, Onofrio
2018-01-01
Abstract
Anti-utilitarianism is a school of thought that critiques the hegemony of the epistemological postulates of economics in the humanities and social sciences. Anti-utilitarians assert the crucial importance of the social bond when compared to self-interest. They outline a gift exchange paradigm that aims to overstep two major frameworks of the social sciences: holism and methodological individualism. In 1981, the French sociologist, Alain Caillé, and the Swiss anthropologist, Gérald Berthoud, gave birth to MAUSS – Mouvement anti-utilitariste dans les sciences sociales (Anti-utilitarian Movement in the Social Sciences). This brilliant acronym reproduces the surname of the author of The Gift (1924), Marcel Mauss. Most anti-utilitarians reproach Latouche for the choice of the term “degrowth”: it implicitly embeds the alternative into the economic imaginary. They call, instead, for a “political” critique of boundlessness and excess, uprooting the discourse from an ethical level.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
