ABSTRACT
Economics is the study of goods, in the first place of material, then of vital, social and mental goods of every kind. To the latter are closely related the values of moral, legal, political and artistic life. In this chapter, the authors looks at the whole realm only through special groups of values which happen to be accessible. There is little prospect of our attaining any authoritative insight into moral values, as such, from the neighbouring fields or from a general theory. On the contrary, the domain of morality, as yet the most accessible among the more important fields, must itself furnish us with points of departure into general theory. It is precisely the existence of the material stuff provided by the lower for the higher structural value, which makes this dependence necessary. Moral conduct is always conduct towards persons, but never except in connection with other kinds of values and counter-values.
