Humanizing Economics

Economics should explicitly incorporate ethical concepts—virtue, justice, and flourishing—into either its models or its interpretive layer, rather than treating all preferences as equally legitimate inputs. That means rethinking when technical cost‑benefit analysis suffices and when normative inquiry must guide policy choices (for example, homelessness policy or regulation of vice markets). — If economists and policymakers adopt this shift, debates about trade, welfare, and regulation will reframe from maximizing consumption to measuring and promoting human flourishing, changing policy priorities and public expectations.