In ancient times, scholars such as Confucius and Aristotle expounded on the virtue of the “middle way” or “intermediate,” an ideal point of moderation or balance between the extremes of human behavior. Adam Smith, widely considered the father of modern economics as we know it, also encouraged propriety in his first work, The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Since then, different schools of economics have continued to incorporate the idea of propriety into their theories, for example in such concepts as equilibrium and bounded rationality, though few economists have defined it explicitly. In light of growing uncertainty and polarization around the world, propriety economics offers alternative solutions for markets, governments, and everyday citizens.This book embarks on a thorough review of Eastern and Western philosophies of propriety over the past 2,500 years, followed by an investigation of the ideas of propriety found in five key schools of economics: classical, neoclassical, institution
