Synopses & Reviews
Anthony de Jasay is arguably one of the most independent thinkers and influential libertarian political philosophers of our time. Jasay challenges the reigning paradigms justifying modern democratic government, critiquing what he regards as the well-intentioned but illinformed arguments favoring the modern expansion of state power. The seventy-one articles collected in
Political Economy, Concisely are exactly what the title promises: a collection of concise essays that examine the political economy of a free society. Written for the general reader and specialist alike, these essays articulate a convincing classical liberal view of the world, with a no-nonsense approach to modern economic theory. Many of the articles are collected here for the first time in book form.
Jasays aim here is to clarify basic concepts in the realm of political and economic philosophy, such as property, equality and distributive justice, public goods, unemployment, opportunity costs, and welfare. His trenchant comments on European economics and political systems provide specifics that support his more general observations of the modern world. Arranged topically, these essays reflect the wit and intellectual elegance of their author, challenging conventional wisdom in a subtle yet incisive manner. Russian and French tragicomedies are used as striking illustrations of the fact that the human mind seems to be characteristically unwilling to endorse economic common sense against the myth of the beneficial effects of government control. Such lively topics as How to Get a Free Lunch: Just Apply for It,” Your Dog Owns Your House,” Russia Hobbling Along on Clay Feet,” Who Minds the Gap?” and Free Riding on the Euro” both entertain and instruct.
The topical arrangement within the sequence of the seven parts of the text provides a meaningful context for the reader and allows information to be accessed in a comprehensible manner. Political Economy, Concisely gives a jargon-free economic account of important matters in our daily lives. Its emphasis on the political rather than the ordinary business of life fills the need for revitalizing classical political economy, concisely.
Anthony de Jasay is an independent theorist living in France. Jasay believes that philosophy should be mainly, if not exclusively, about clarifying conclusions that arise from the careless use of, or deliberate misuse of, language. There are echoes here of . . . Wittgenstein's later philosophy.” His books, translated into a half dozen languages, include Justice and Its Surroundings and Social Contract, Free Ride.
[source/credit line] I. M. D. Little in Ordered Anarchy, 2007
Hartmut Kliemt is Professor of Philosophy and Economics at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management.
Synopsis
Written for the general reader and specialist alike, the essays collected here articulate a convincing classical liberal view of the world, with a no-nonsense approach to modern economic theory. Many of the articles are collected here for the first time in book form. Jasay's aim is to clarify basic concepts in the realm of political and economic philosophy, such as property, equality and distributive justice, public goods, unemployment, opportunity costs, and welfare.
Anthony de Jasay is an independent theorist living in France.
Hartmut Kliemt is Professor of Philosophy and Economics at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management.
Table of Contents
Introduction,
by Hartmut KliemtPART 1: RIGHTS, PROPERTY, AND MARKETSProperty or “Property Rights”? 3“Design Faults” in Locke’s Theory of Property TaintOwnership with Guilt 8Is Ownership a Myth? 13How to Get a Free Lunch? Just Apply for It 18The Problem of Contract Enforcement 23The Public Goods Dilemma 28Trying the Free Market 32The Statist Legacy 40Your Dog Owns Your House 44
PART 2: THE COMMON SENSE OF NON-ECONOMICSThe Yakoubovich Syndrome, or Lies, Damn Lies, andEconomic Policy 53Winning Policy Battles but Losing the War AgainstEconomic Realities 57Paying Ourselves More of Their Money 61The Doctrine of “Unequal Exchange”: The Last Refuge ofModern Socialism? 65Corporate Managers: Are They Going to Kill Capitalism? 69When the Economy Needs Morals 74The Political Economy of Force-Feeding 78Hostile to Whom? 83Mannesmann’s Courtesy Could Prove Rare 88
PART 3: FRENCH AND RUSSIAN TRAGICOMEDIESCan Putin Build a Real Economy from Oil and Rigor? 95Russia and the New Europe: Growing Apart 99Russia Hopping Along on Clay Feet 103The French Tragicomedy 107How the French “Social Model” Could Self-Destruct 111A Little Bit of History Repeating 116There Is No French Exception 119The Hobbling of Private France 123
PART 4: THE CAPITALISM THEY HATEThe Capitalism They Hate 129Striving to Get Richer and Poorer 138“Bread and Circuses” in the Modern Welfare State 142Who Minds the Gap? 147Float or Sink? The Millstone of the “Social Market” inGermany 153How Germany and France, the Sick Men of Europe, TortureThemselves 157Shall We Borrow from the Children? 161Low Pay 165Freedom to Strike or Right to Strike? 172
PART 5: CREATING UNEMPLOYMENTStamp Your Feet and Demand a Fair Deal 177Paternalism and Employment 180The Things Labor Unions Are Up To 184The Instability of the Welfare State 189Some Bad News Could Be Good News 193Built-in Unemployment: Social Protection Costs More ThanIt Is Worth 197Let’s Throw This Model Away 204How to Stifle Employment by “Social Protection” 208Workable Alternatives 212A Tale of Two Models 215A Vicious Circle of Social Kindness 218
PART 6: THE FUTURE OF EUROPEThe Economic Consequences of a United States of Europe 223A Giant Free-Trade Area or a Political Counterweight toAmerica? 227European Crosscurrents and the Federalist Drift 232How Confederacy Could Turn into a Federal Superstate 236Majority Rule by Any Other Name 240What Now for “Europe”? Why the People Failed TheirMasters 244Free-Riding on the Euro 248Some Democratic Economics 252The Soviet Legacy 256A War of Attrition Between Economic Reality and PoliticalDreams 260A Brightening of the Economic Skies over Brussels? 264Turkey Knocking on Europe’s Door 268Turkey and the EU Club 273Europe: More Secular and More Islamist 277A Bill of Rights Europe Did Not Need 281Europe’s Social-Democratic “Government” 285Power Corrupts, So Let’s Make It Less Absolute 289
PART 7: ECONOMICS, TRUE AND FALSEWhat Price Pride? On the Hidden Costs of EconomicIlliteracy 295On the Economics of Protecting Employment 299The Costly Mistake of Ignoring Opportunity Costs 303“Globalization” and Its Critics: Mutual Gain vs.Cloud-Cuckoo Land 307Are High Oil Prices a Form of Exploitation? 311Immigration: What Is the Liberal Stand? 316More Nonsense on Stilts: Mr. Bentham Is At It Again 320Risk, Value, and Externality 324
Index 331