The Development of Price Formation Theory and Subjectivism about Ultimate Values

abstract One sometimes finds leading economic thinkers expounding the metaphysical thesis that the ultimate ethical value of an object reflects nothing about the properties of the object in itself and instead reflects the subjective tastes of the valuer. Could anything in economics qua economics provide a warrant for such ethical subjectivism? And what might tempt economists to speak on such broadly meta‐ethical issues? In this paper we argue that a partial explanation for the subjectivist cast‐of‐mind of much economic theory is to be found in the recent history of price formation theory. (We focus in particular on the so‐called ‘Marginalist’ and ‘Ordinalist’ Revolutions in price theory.) We argue that although such price formation theory provides no warrant for drawing ethical subjectivist conclusions, it does provide an explanation as to why such conclusions might be drawn. Thus we explore how the particular history of the development of what is called ‘value theory’ might well lead one (albeit unwarrantedly) towards ethical subjectivism.     

Creating space for interdisciplinary and interagency learning: the Newham ‘responsiveness’ days

Family therapists in Newham's specialist child and adolescent mental health services describe an interdisciplinary and interagency training day for Newham's children's workforce; the workshop aims to develop co‐learning about communication and collaboration in the context of a rapidly changing service environment, driven by current national and local policy initiatives. The training team attempts to generate a rich learning context using three themes: networking, responsiveness and complexity. The workshop demonstrates that it is perhaps possible to embed complex communication discourses in brief, pragmatic training, enhancing collaboration between professionals in local networks.