The Possibility of a Welfare Policy in a World of Emotion-Driven Individuals: A Humean Point of View

André Lapidus (1)

1 PHARE - Pôle d'Histoire de l'Analyse et des Représentations Économiques

Based on Hume's major philosophical works and on some of his Essays, this paper discusses formally the feasibility, from a Humean point of view, of a welfare policy which would aim at promoting the highest individual happiness whereas individual decisions, like individual happiness, are determined not only by allocations of goods, but also by an emotional state. It is shown that both the intertemporal structure of the problem and the role that Hume granted to the ‘calm passion' allow solving the problem, at least in principle.

Keywords: welfare policy; violence of the passion; emotion; belief; pleasure; Hume; happiness; decision

Domains: Economics and Finance; Philosophy

André Lapidus. The Possibility of a Welfare Policy in a World of Emotion-Driven Individuals: A Humean Point of View. Ragip Ege and Herrade Igersheim. Freedom and happiness in economic thought and philosophy, Routledge, pp.212-228, 2011. ⟨hal-00538106v2⟩