Bruno Segre

Moral economy, as a set of rules which regulate market transactions, has been the object of much research and debate since the 1980's. Classical sociological authors as Weber, Simmel, and Toennies also dealt with this subject, however. Weber, in particular, dwelt on the rules of the moral economy in the financial markets. This work intends, first of all, to shed light on Weber's contribution, as distinguished from those of Simmel and Toennies. Secondly, with reference to Weber and Simmel, it formulates two models of business relations, one oligopolistic and the other based on free competition, and shows the consequences on competitiveness in the World market that flow from the prevalence of the one model or the other.