Professor Reiko Goto, who specializes in economic philosophy, adds the perspective of philosophy to the academic field of economics.
He explores the ideals of "welfare," "justice," and "equality" in a world where economic rationality is prioritized.
In the latest research, with the keyword "capability (potential) approach",
Conduct field surveys of people who actually live in cities,
Considering public welfare methods to enhance individual capabilities.
Hidden in “Profit Maximization”
Pointing out the dangers of economics
Economics analyzes various phenomena based on the premise that human behavior (regardless of individuals, including companies and nations) is for the purpose of maximizing their own profits. According to the premise, people work under the rationality of maximizing self-interest such as wages and evaluation. Even for things like helping others, which seem to be of no benefit to the individual, he maintains rationality by forcibly reasoning that it will be returned to his self-interest, such as "it will come back to me someday" or "the reputation of the world will improve." ing.
However, economics, which is based on the monism of profit maximization, can have a negative impact on people's basic ideas about people and society," points out Reiko Goto Professor of Faculty of Economics Department of Economics. As a possible adverse effect, she gave an analogy that she often tells her students.
Suppose there are young siblings who are unable to touch a toy in front of them. My brother was the first to reach out. The younger brother shouted, "It's unfair," but when the older brother asked, "What did you want to do?" When the older brother heard the answer, he said, "Well, it turned out exactly as you thought, so why not?"
"My younger brother thought, 'What should I do when someone other than myself wants a toy?' There should be a conflict between ``what should I do'' and ``want'' like this younger brother, but monistic theory is based solely on profit as the principle of action. Rather than worrying about what action your younger brother will take the next time he encounters a similar situation, you might think that you should take action from the beginning.” (Professor Goto)
"Those who do not work are lazy and cunning"
Incentive theory that makes you say
Professor Goto specializes in "economic philosophy," an academic field that analyzes the real world starting from the intersection of economics and philosophy. It is based on John Rawls, who advocated "Theory of Justice," and Amartya Sen, who used the term "rational fools" to argue that economic rationality alone cannot explain human behavior. (1998 Nobel Prize winner in economics) et al. The aim is to academically formulate what has been analyzed from there and to make use of it in reality.
Professor Goto's research focus includes concerns about current economic activity and the global economy. For example, people work to earn as much wage income as possible in order to support themselves and their families, so getting paid is an incentive. This idea, called incentive theory, is consistent with the economic rationality of maximizing self-interest.
However, in a world where the incentive of reward is taken for granted, there is a strong belief that the welfare state makes people lazy. When there are people who receive welfare support, anger rises up against the unfair view that "I am losing my hard work" and "other people should work in the same way". . One of Professor Goto's challenges is to break down this part.
Professor Goto says that the Constitution of Japan, which is familiar to Japanese people, provides a clue to the solution. “Japan has Article 13 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to pursue happiness, and Article 25, which guarantees the right to live. According to the law, it should be possible to give one's property to another person at one's own will.There is a mechanism to give one's property out of the profits obtained while balancing these Articles 13, 25, and 29 of the Constitution of Japan. I think it is possible." (Professor Goto)
People often work for the sake of others who cannot work, not just for their own profit. However, in today's society, there are norms that distort such honest feelings, leading to the interpretation that "others who can't work are slacking off" and "I'm at a loss because I'm forced to work." there may be. Professor Goto fears that one of the reasons for this is economics based on monistic theory.
capabilities of the elderly and people with disabilities
Field survey from the perspective of "freedom of entry and exit"
In order to make use of his research on economic philosophy in the real world, he is also promoting research projects using actual cities as fields. The project "Implementation of Welfare Transportation System Based on the Capability Approach and Construction of Research and Analysis Program", led by Professor Goto, is a project with the cooperation of Kunitachi City, Tokyo, to explore the capabilities of the elderly and people with disabilities living in the city. ) from the viewpoint of “freedom of entry and exit”. To that end, what kind of public services can be created? Welfare paid transportation (individual transportation services operated by non-profit corporations such as NPOs and local governments) implemented by NPOs in Kunitachi City also participated, and the efforts of the entire Kunitachi City implemented as
Professor Goto explains the aim of this research project as follows. "There is 'freedom to go in and out,' where you can think 'I can go out whenever I want, so I can relax at home today' and 'I can go out anytime I want to, so I can go out today.' It is very important to enrich the capabilities of each individual by improving the quality of their lives. If there is trouble in the home, we may be able to create a system that can be rescued." (Professor Goto)
Professor Goto additional post also Professor at Teikyo University's Advanced Comprehensive Research Organization, which was established to solve social issues through the integration of the humanities and sciences. Together with experts in econometrics, neuroscience, psychiatry, civil engineering, and educational technology, we have also started comprehensive research on "freedom to move" based on the capability approach.
“First, we measure and reconceptualize people’s happiness and well-being. I believe that there may be ‘city capabilities’ further down the road. The combined total should not be equal to the city's capabilities.I would like to find a way to measure such city capabilities." (Professor Goto)
Thinking about "working" and "learning"
Popular lectures from students
Finally, we asked the students attending the lectures on "Introduction to Economics" and "Code of Conduct" taught by Professor Goto.
"It's always a pleasure for me to talk frankly about topics that are familiar to us, such as 'why do we study?', in life-size words. Every lecture brings new discoveries." (1st year, Faculty of Liberal Arts)
“It is great that I was able to gain a multifaceted perspective on one thing and verbalize my vague feelings.” (2nd year Teikyo University Junior College)
"I thought economics would be difficult for me, but it's really fun to learn what actions to take in response to events and what effects those actions have." (1st year Faculty of Liberal Arts)
Lectures that carefully tackle themes such as "working" and "learning" will be stimulating contents for students who are about to enter society. As an educator, Professor Goto says, ``Universities are special spaces where academic freedom is protected.
Regarding the future as a researcher, he says that there is an issue of forming democratic decision-making with stakeholders such as governments, NPOs, and citizens, with the keyword "capability approach". On the other hand, Professor Goto says that his role in today's society is to see the reach of conventional economics and expand its framework from the perspective of economic philosophy. We look at "welfare," "equality," and "justice" from the viewpoint of economic philosophy, and explore more effective methods of social support.
