| Description |
viii, 134 pages ; 24 cm |
| Contents |
1. A prior ethical commitment -- 2. Ends vs. means: consequentialism vs. contractarianism -- 3. The consequentialist approach to government -- 4. Enter the economists -- 5. The efficiency standard, corruption and the growth of government -- 6. The indeterminacy of social welfare theory -- 7. The contractarian approach to government -- 8. The rules of the political game -- 9. Playing by the generality rule -- 10. Generality and minimalist government |
| Summary |
"Because it is technically flawed and morally bankrupt, the author argues, the economist's consequence-based, procedurally detached theory of the state has contributed to the growth of government. As part of the Kantian/Rawlsian contractarian project, this book seeks to return economics to its foundations in moral philosophy. Given the moral equivalence of persons, the greatest possible equal participation must be promoted, persons must be impartially treated and, because it is grounded in consequentialist social welfare theory (SWT), the economist's theory of the state must be rejected. Ad hoc depoyment of SWT has facilitated discriminatory rent seeking and contributed to larger government. In contrast, this book argues that equal political participation and a constitutional impartiality constraint minimize rent seeking, respect individual perceptions of the 'public good' and underwrite the legitimacy of government |
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Economists, moral philosophers and political scientists will find this book a unique contribution to the literature."--BOOK JACKET |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 117-127) and index |
| Subject |
Free enterprise -- Moral and ethical aspects.
|
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Economics -- Moral and ethical aspects.
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| LC no. |
2002023260 |
| ISBN |
1840646764 |
|
