Moral Economy
Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-28
CORE DEFINITION
Moral economy is a way of viewing economic activity in terms of its moral, rather than material, aspects. The concept was developed in 1971 by British Marxist social historian and political activist E. P. Thompson in his essay, "The Moral Economy of the English Crowd in the Eighteenth Century". He referred to a specific class struggle in a specific era, seen from the perspective of the poorest citizens.
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Moral economy is a way of viewing economic activity in terms of its moral, rather than material, aspects. The concept was developed in 1971 by British Marxist social historian and political activist E. P. Thompson.
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Moral economy refers to pre-modern or community markets where transactions are governed by shared moral norms, fairness perceptions, and reciprocal obligations, rather than pure price mechanisms. Thompson used it to explain popular protests.
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- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_economyverified
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