For decades, mainstream economic analysis has tended to exclude morality from the investigation and understanding of economic life. Yet in reality there are always various moral dimensions at play when it comes to people’s economic thinking, practices and relationships, on one hand, and the structures in which they operate, on the other.
In this workshop we will look more closely at this morality-economy nexus, with a particular regional focus on Africa. Due to their economic and socio-cultural diversity and complexity, African countries are privileged sites to discuss the moral dimensions of economic life. Many economies on the continent are characterised by substantial interventions by bilateral donors and other foreign actors, a powerful presence of multinationals, rapid and turbulent change, a range of difficulties in achieving structural transformation, and, finally, GDP growth alongside rising inequalities across classes and locations. Related public debates are flourishing; for example, about the impact of global connections and new technologies, climate change, the rise of a new middle class, foreign economic dominance, the reality and prospect of sovereignty, or the distinctiveness and future of ‘Africapitalism’. Against this intriguing background, our group of researchers from across the globe will gather to discuss one of the most topical issue of our time: the state of morality in today’s world, all with a focus on Africa.