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The Bourgeois Virtues: Ethics for an Age of Commerce
Abstract
‘Bourgeois virtue' is not a contradiction in terms. The age of capitalism has enormously enriched the world. But the enrichment is by no means only material. The virtues enabled capitalist development; but a bourgeois life also encouraged new versions of old virtues; and gave scope for varied lives.
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“She argued that capitalism does not just make us rich, it makes us good (p. 4), viewed capitalism as a MacIntyrean practice and defended what she called the bourgeois virtues generated by capitalism as virtues in themselves”
From Alasdair MacIntyre and Adam Smith on markets, virtues and ends in a capitalist economy (2023) · cites this paper as McCloskey, 2006
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Metadata
- Authors
- McCloskey, D. N.
- Corresponding author
- McCloskey, Deirdre N.
- Venue
- University of Chicago Press eBooks
- Publisher
- University of Chicago Press
- Published
- 2006
- Volume
- 5
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 1-16
- OpenAlex
- W1501319145
- Cited by
- 820
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 51 · 2025: 30 · 2024: 49 · 2023: 41 · 2022: 41 · 2021: 36 · 2020: 52 · 2019: 75 · 2018: 53 · 2017: 49 · 2016: 39 · 2015: 48 · 2014: 44 · 2013: 33 · 2012: 35
- FWCI
- 28.19
- Type
- book
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- University of Chicago Press eBooks (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- World Economy (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Society, Economy, and Ethics Research
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Historical Economic and Legal Thought
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Cultural Capital and Social Class
- Keywords
- bourgeois virtues, capitalism, moral values, bourgeois life
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