Economics: An Interpretative Science of Human Flourishing

Economics: An Interpretative Science of Human Flourishing advances a systematic reconstruction of economics as a science of understanding (verstehen) rather than prediction. The volume opens by redefining economics as the study of purposeful human action embedded in historical time, re-establishing the intrinsic relationship between economic theory, interpretation, and history. Building on this methodological foundation, the book develops a hermeneutical theory of capital and business cycles, interpreting prices, profits, and fluctuations as meaning-laden signals within an open-ended process of entrepreneurial coordination. Subsequent chapters examine money, inflation, and monetary policy as institutional and interpretative phenomena, critically reassessing the limits of price-stability–oriented frameworks. The final part integrates Austrian and Schumpeterian insights to analyse entrepreneurship, competition, and innovation as dynamic discovery processes. Taken as a whole, the volume proposes an interpretative, non-deterministic framework for economic analysis, oriented toward understanding market processes and the institutional conditions of human flourishing.

Dr. Carmelo Ferlito is an economist and public intellectual whose work bridges economic theory, policy analysis, and institutional design. Drawing on the Austrian and Schumpeterian traditions, his research explores entrepreneurship, capital, monetary dynamics, and the role of institutions in fostering human flourishing. He is CEO of the Center for Market Education and a Faculty Member at Universitas Prasetiya Mulya, combining academic inquiry with hands-on policy and business experience.