Ethonomics entails an extension of the existing field of economics so that instead of:
• simply focusing on concerns predominantly based on price;
• it goes further, balancing financial concerns against ethical matters.
In the same way that the meaning of ‘economic’ has come to mean ‘optimising economic factors’, ‘ethonomic’ would thereby mean an optimal outcome in terms of all factors including both ethical and economic.
Optimal ethonomic outcomes equate to a progression forward from capitalism, progressively tempering its problems.
Optimal ethonomics would enable greater social capital and responsibility. It would re-position the workplace as a true component of society. This would be highly significant given the critical focus upon the workplace for community in developed countries.
In this section we look at three main impact areas for ethonomics:
• the state and its relationship to society;
• alienation; and
First we look at the state and its relationship to society.