ABSTRACT
The Northern economic path constituting the Social Economy aims to link, democratically, the social and the technological attributes of the knowledge-based economy. Through the Economics of the Common Good, this chapter explores the ethical foundations and implications of economic analysis, along with the individual and social dimensions of economic problems. This grounding is specifically oriented towards helping shape an economic policy that is consistent with the social values of the person and with a humane community. At the age of 29 Adam Smith was elected to the profes sorship in moral philosophy at Glasgow. Perhaps the most accurate designation of moral philosophy would be to equate it, today, with the humanities, and indeed Smiths first major work was The Theory of Moral Sentiments. The most consistent theme running through Smiths work is that of liberty, which includes the need to support the aspirations of the workers and the poor.
