“Oeconomicus” of Xenophon: Its Significance for Modern Economic Science

Abstract:

The article analyzes Xenophon’s ‘Oeconomicus’, where he traced the emergence of economic science. In his work, Xenophon offers a broader understanding of the subject field of economics, including the ethical aspect. The article argues that it was in fact Xenophon rather than Aristotle who was the first economic theorist. Xenophon’s idea about the ethical foundations of economics was developed during the Renaissance and in the age of Enlightenment. Thus, economics went beyond the science of household management to the science about the quality of life and its enhancement.
By looking at the origins of economic science (theory) and connecting them to the modern agenda we can ensure the methodological completeness of approaches to including ethics into economic theorizing.
The article makes a special focus on strategic planning, which is one of the ways of combining ethics and economic practice.

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