In the newly developed field of 'public choice', economists have turned to the questions of motive (rather than effect) underlying social-welfare legislation. The basis for many of these arguments is a theory of 'ideology' which flows from the 'self-interested man' of Adam Smith. Recent elaborations of this theory include a full development in the writing of Schumpeter and others. This conservative theory is contrasted with theories based on motives of benevolence and altruism, found in the work of Bentham, Boulding, Tawney, and Polanyi. The latter views are, it is argued, essential in obtaining a full understanding of our past, present, and future society.
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