ABSTRACT
From a biological and neurobiological perspective, the relationship between the economic actor and the moral agent is closer than commonly believed. This chapter explains the process by which the other becomes an end in itself in the evolution of human beings from a self-interested basis. It identifies the hindrances to that process in the marketplace and attempts to explain why they are present. The chapter suggests that how to remove these obstacles, by using a principle of conduct that includes treating the other as an end in itself and that is equally valid in both the moral and the economic sphere: the virtue of prudence described by Adam Smith. Finally, while Smith focuses on the economic usefulness of the moral virtue of prudence, the chapter point outs the "moral usefulness" of prudence for economics, namely the worth of prudence in orienting the economic agent's actions.
