%0 Journal Article
%T Ethical political economy: Lessons from the Malay world¡¯s Hikayat Abdullah (1849)
%A Alan Chong
%J Asian Journal of Comparative Politics
%@ 2057-892X
%D 2018
%R 10.1177/2057891117749948
%X According to Munshi Abdullah, the author of the Hikayat Abdullah (Annals of Abdullah), ¡®knowledge and skill are the ladder to riches, and riches lead to greatness. Of a truth, all things created by Allah in this world have their value which can be reckoned in terms of money; learning alone commands a price which no man can determine¡¯ (Abdullah, 1970: 40). This empowerment of ethical behaviour through the disciplining of the mind in the practice of principles frames the Hikayat¡¯s approach to the practice of mercantilism and good government in the service of commerce. This article interprets the dimensions of this 19th-century Asian vision and uncovers three themes related to the maritime Silk Road: impartial administration of law and order, beneficent autocracy and the proper prioritization of wealth and good manners
%K critique of capitalism
%K ethical governance
%K ethics and political economy
%K legacy of colonialism
%K Silk Road politics
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2057891117749948