Ver Eecke Ethical Dimensions of the Economy

Making Use of Hegel and the Concepts of Public and Merit Goods
1. Auflage 2008
ISBN: 978-3-540-77111-1
Verlag: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 304 Seiten

Reihe: Ethical Economy

Overview This book is a philosophical reflection (using mainly Hegel, in addition to 1 Adam Smith, Kant, Marx and Catholic Social Thought) about the soc- political dimension of economics. In it I both agree and disagree with the slogan that “the least government is the best government. ” I agree with the slogan, in particular as it applies to the economic domain. Adam Smith taught us that rational and self-interested individuals, left by themselves, create a more efficient and reliable economic system than one in which the government has a heavy role as was the case in his time with the merc- tile system (Smith, 14, 651). Ludwig von Mises demonstrated the same idea for the communist command economy (Hayek 1935, 87–130). I d- agree with the above mentioned slogan if it is interpreted as suggesting that we can best forget about the role of the government for a good functioning economy. Instead, I will argue that the government has an important fu- tion in creating the proper regulations and the wise institutional arran- ments which will allow the economy to flourish in a more efficient, fair and humane way. This book is interdisciplinary in nature. It is a philosophical and ethical reflection on economics. Hence, I make use of philosophical ideas, often but not exclusively those of Hegel. I reflect philosophically on economic concepts.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Ver Eecke, Wilfried

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Acknowledgments;6
2;Table of Contents;8
3;Introduction;13
4;Part I Normative Reflections on the Economy;24
4.1;Section I Multiple Discourses on the Economy;25
4.1.1;1. The Interconnection of Moral and Economic Theory;26
4.1.1.1;I. The Moral Discourse on Economic Reality;26
4.1.1.2;II. The Economic Discourse on Economic Reality;32
4.1.1.3;Conclusion;33
4.1.2;2. Economics and Politics in the Architectonic of Hegel’s Thought;34
4.1.2.1;I. The Rejection of the Rousseau-ian Direct Democracy;34
4.1.2.2;II. Rejection of Universal Suffrage;39
4.1.2.3;III. Hegel's Own Solution;40
4.1.2.4;Conclusion;44
4.2;Section II Hegel and Political Economy;45
4.2.1;3. The Ethical Function of the Economy;46
4.2.1.1;I. Hegel’s Concept of Freedom;47
4.2.1.2;II. Hegel’s Arguments in Favor of a Free Market;56
4.2.1.3;III. The Proper Relation between State and Free Market;70
4.2.1.4;Conclusion;76
4.2.2;4. The Economic Order: A Human, Not a Natural Institution;78
4.2.2.1;I. Adam Smith’s Ontology of the Economy;78
4.2.2.2;II. The Function of Property;79
4.2.2.3;III. The Neo-Liberal Economic Philosophy;83
4.2.2.4;IV. Philosophical Significance of the Neo-Liberal Movement;85
4.2.2.5;V. The Free Market as a Subsidiary or as an Absolute Value;87
4.2.2.6;VI. Beyond Internal Restrictions of the Free Market;90
4.2.2.7;VII. Freedom and the Free Market;92
4.2.2.8;Conclusion;95
4.3;Section III Tightening the Argument A Philosophical Dialogue with Economists;96
4.3.1;5. The Concept of “Merit Good” and the History of Economic Thought;97
4.3.1.1;I. The Problem;97
4.3.1.2;II. Justification of the Term “Merit Good”;104
4.3.1.3;III. Justification of the Different Kinds of Merit Goods;106
4.3.1.4;Conclusion;112
4.3.2;6. Objecting to a Libertarian Attack on Governmental Functions in the Economy: The Concept of “Public Good”;119
4.3.2.1;I. The Thesis in a Nutshell;120
4.3.2.2;II. Problems with the Concept;122
4.3.2.3;III. In Search of a Definition;132
4.3.2.4;IV. Implementation Problems;141
4.3.2.5;Conclusions;150
5;Part II Applications;153
5.1;Section I Reflections on the Political Economy in the US;154
5.1.1;7. Structural Deficiencies in the American System;155
5.1.1.1;I. After Nozick and Rawls;155
5.1.1.2;II. Justice. Concern for the Common Good: The U.S. System and “Interest Group Liberalism” or “Laissez-Faire Pluralism”;157
5.1.1.3;III. Freedom. Hegel's Good Society;165
5.1.1.4;IV. The Bishop’s Pastoral: A Religiously Based Economic Ethic;178
5.1.1.5;Conclusion;182
5.1.2;8. Unjust Redistribution in the American System;185
5.1.2.1;I. An Opportunity for Collective Gains;185
5.1.2.2;II. The Opportunity for Collective Gain is a Public Good;190
5.1.2.3;III. The Moral Argument;194
5.1.2.4;IV. The Current Method of Subsidizing Children in the United States;195
5.1.2.5;Conclusion;198
5.2;Section II Challenges in Transforming Command Economies;200
5.2.1;9. The Role of Religion and Civil Society in a Transformed Command Economy;201
5.2.1.1;I. A Hidden Challenge in the Transition to the Free Market;201
5.2.1.2;II. Arguments in Favor of the Free Market;203
5.2.1.3;III. The Social Question and the Limits of the Free Market;209
5.2.1.4;IV. To Which Institutions Should One Turn in Addressing the Social Question and Other Problems Arising from a Free Market?;211
5.2.1.5;Conclusion;222
5.3;Section III Philosophy of Economics and Catholic Social Thought;223
5.3.1;10. Overlapping Ideas: Catholic Social Thought and Recent Nobel Laureates in Economics;224
5.3.1.1;I. Multiple Authorities in Economics;224
5.3.1.2;II. Overlapping Authority;238
5.3.1.3;III. Economists and Catholic Social Thought;242
5.3.1.4;Conclusion;246
6;Conclusion;248
7;References;257
8;Indices;272