Unnatural virtues for well‐living: Social economy, civitas, and public philosophy

Argues that there exists, at least at the level of social practices, a type of social or public philosophy that identifies and gives meaning to the values dynamizing social interactions. That is, the “public philosophy” consists of a continuous discourse about the “good”. It is to this level of public philosophy that social economics adverts to its research field. When this is done we understand that the social economy, expressed in metaphors and symbols of “wellbeing” and “well‐living” in fact consists of the resources and social organizations that make it possible for groups and communities to manage their own affairs. Uses the example of micro‐business and micro‐enterprise to show the interaction of the “public philosophy” (as a set of expectations) and social economy. Concludes by arguing that attention to non‐instrumental dimensions of the social economy raises a new set of questions about the meaning of economy and the human good.