ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the significance of Why Things Matter to People, a book that makes a highly compelling case as to why values are both unavoidable and essential to a critical social science that treats human beings with dignity and respect. Andrew often uses a moral economy lens to illustrate the power of this social scientific perspective – a perspective he has applied to economy, society and the environment. While the chapter endorses this perspective, it also argues that we need to move beyond moral economy as an ethical critique to embrace the foundational economy as a political strategy because the latter can translate the values of the former into the policies and practices that are necessary for the provisioning of the mundane goods and services – such as dignified eldercare, food, health and housing – that are essential to the well-being of people and planet alike.
