JUDGES, WEALTH AND MORALS: RONALD COASE ON THE JUDGE IN ECONOMICS

In this article, I assess Ronald Coase's preference for the institution of the judge in the light of his methodology and his concern for morals. Coase prefers judges because their approach is close to his own: empirical, qualitative, case-specific, and comparative, rather than abstract. Coase's interest in morals, his taking into account of morals in his case studies, and his methodological similarity with judges suggest that judicial choices should also, for him, be based on morals. These morals seem to emanate from common sense, the set of common values shared within a society. The judge is the public agent who can most aptly make use of common sense to apply the moral principle of justice due to his proximity and his listening to the parties. Coase raises the question of how some notions of general welfare such as economic wealth could enter into consideration in the moral concept of justice.