ECONOMICS, PHILOSOPHY OF

The basic questions of economics blend with those of political philosophy and ethics. Perhaps the most fundamental concern is whether we can compare and measure different levels of well-being in economic terms, given that the sources of value are diverse, and only partially concerned with economic activity. Other problems include the difficulties of achieving a social welfare function, and of understanding the conception of the free economic agent who exercises choices in the market. See also labour theory of value, Marx, Protestant work ethic, Smith.