Summary of James R. Otteson's Seven Deadly Economic Sins

Summary of James R. Otteson's Seven Deadly Economic Sins PDF Author: Everest Media,
Publisher: Everest Media LLC
ISBN: 1669353931
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 8

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Book Description
Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 While it is true that markets are competitive, and that some firms will succeed and others will fail, this does not have to be a negative thing. Because markets are positive-sum, not zero-sum, the wealth they create is positive-sum as well. #2 There are two main ways to get something from someone: by taking it forcibly from them, or by defrauding them and promising to pay them in the future but not doing so. These are examples of zero-sum exchanges. #3 Until about 1800, the average person’s per-capita wealth was extremely low, between $1 and $3 per day. But there is another way to get what you want from another person: make an offer of exchange that the other party is free to accept or decline. If both parties benefit from the exchange, it is a positive-sum exchange. #4 The morally superior way to deal with others is to engage in cooperative exchanges instead of extractive ones. This was a great leap forward in human morality, and it has become clear that the only properly moral way to deal with others is to treat them as equals in dignity and agency.

Summary of James R. Otteson's Seven Deadly Economic Sins

Summary of James R. Otteson's Seven Deadly Economic Sins PDF Author: Everest Media,
Publisher: Everest Media LLC
ISBN: 1669353931
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 8

Get Book

Book Description
Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 While it is true that markets are competitive, and that some firms will succeed and others will fail, this does not have to be a negative thing. Because markets are positive-sum, not zero-sum, the wealth they create is positive-sum as well. #2 There are two main ways to get something from someone: by taking it forcibly from them, or by defrauding them and promising to pay them in the future but not doing so. These are examples of zero-sum exchanges. #3 Until about 1800, the average person’s per-capita wealth was extremely low, between $1 and $3 per day. But there is another way to get what you want from another person: make an offer of exchange that the other party is free to accept or decline. If both parties benefit from the exchange, it is a positive-sum exchange. #4 The morally superior way to deal with others is to engage in cooperative exchanges instead of extractive ones. This was a great leap forward in human morality, and it has become clear that the only properly moral way to deal with others is to treat them as equals in dignity and agency.

Summary of James R. Otteson's Seven Deadly Economic Sins

Summary of James R. Otteson's Seven Deadly Economic Sins PDF Author: Milkyway Media
Publisher: Milkyway Media
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 8

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Book Description
Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview: #1 While it is true that markets are competitive, and that some firms will succeed and others will fail, this does not have to be a negative thing. Because markets are positivesum, not zerosum, the wealth they create is positivesum as well. #2 There are two main ways to get something from someone: by taking it forcibly from them, or by defrauding them and promising to pay them in the future but not doing so. These are examples of zerosum exchanges. #3 Until about 1800, the average person’s percapita wealth was extremely low, between $1 and $3 per day. But there is another way to get what you want from another person: make an offer of exchange that the other party is free to accept or decline. If both parties benefit from the exchange, it is a positivesum exchange. #4 The morally superior way to deal with others is to engage in cooperative exchanges instead of extractive ones. This was a great leap forward in human morality, and it has become clear that the only properly moral way to deal with others is to treat them as equals in dignity and agency.

Seven Deadly Economic Sins

Seven Deadly Economic Sins PDF Author: James R. Otteson
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108843379
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 325

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Book Description
Compelling basic principles of economics every citizen should know to enable better personal decision-making and better evaluation of public policy.

Seven Deadly Economic Sins

Seven Deadly Economic Sins PDF Author: James R. Otteson
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108910408
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 325

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Book Description
You have heard of the Seven Deadly Sins: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth. Each is a natural human weakness that impedes happiness. In addition to these vices, however, there are economic sins as well. And they, too, wreak havoc on our lives and in society. They can seem intuitively compelling, yet they lead to waste, loss, and forgone prosperity. In this thoughtful and compelling book, James Otteson tells the story of seven central economic fallacies, explaining why they are fallacies, why believing in them leads to mistakes and loss, and how exorcizing them from our thinking can help us avoid costly errors and enable us to live in peace and prosperity.

Honorable Business

Honorable Business PDF Author: James R. Otteson
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190914238
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
Business has a bad name for many people. It is easy to point to unethical and damaging behavior by companies. And it may seem straightforward to blame either indivuduals or, more generally, ruthless markets and amoral commercial society. In Honorable Business, James R. Otteson argues that business activity can be valuable in itself. The primary purpose of honorable businesses is to create value-for all parties. They look for mutually voluntary and mutually beneficial transactions, so that all sides of any exchange benefit, leading to increasing prosperity not just for one person or for one group at the expense of others but simultaneously for everyone involved. Done correctly, honorable business is a positive-sum activity that can enable flourishing for individuals and prosperity for society. Otteson connects honorable business with the political, economic, and cultural institutions that contribute to a just and humane society. He builds on Aristotle's conception of human beings as purposive creatures who are capable of constructing a plan for their lives that gives them a chance of achieving the highest good for humanity, focusing on autonomy and accountability, as well as good moral judgment. This good judgment can enable us to answer the why of what we do, not just the how. He also draws on Adam Smith's moral philosophy and political economy, and argues that Smithian institutions have played a significant role in the remarkable increase in worldwide prosperity we have seen over the last two hundred years. Otteson offers a pragmatic Code of Business Ethics, linked to a specific conception of professionalism, and defends this Code on the basis of a moral mandate to use one's limited resources of time, talent, and treasure to provide value for oneself only by simultaneously providing value to others. The result is well-articulated parameters within which business can be an acceptable-perhaps even praiseworthy-activity.

How Much is Enough?

How Much is Enough? PDF Author: Robert Skidelsky
Publisher: Other Press, LLC
ISBN: 1590515080
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
A provocative and timely call for a moral approach to economics, drawing on philosophers, political theorists, writers, and economists from Aristotle to Marx to Keynes. What constitutes the good life? What is the true value of money? Why do we work such long hours merely to acquire greater wealth? These are some of the questions that many asked themselves when the financial system crashed in 2008. This book tackles such questions head-on. The authors begin with the great economist John Maynard Keynes. In 1930 Keynes predicted that, within a century, per capita income would steadily rise, people’s basic needs would be met, and no one would have to work more than fifteen hours a week. Clearly, he was wrong: though income has increased as he envisioned, our wants have seemingly gone unsatisfied, and we continue to work long hours. The Skidelskys explain why Keynes was mistaken. Then, arguing from the premise that economics is a moral science, they trace the concept of the good life from Aristotle to the present and show how our lives over the last half century have strayed from that ideal. Finally, they issue a call to think anew about what really matters in our lives and how to attain it. How Much Is Enough? is that rarity, a work of deep intelligence and ethical commitment accessible to all readers. It will be lauded, debated, cited, and criticized. It will not be ignored.

What Adam Smith Knew

What Adam Smith Knew PDF Author: James R. Otteson
Publisher: Encounter Books
ISBN: 1594037612
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Book Description
What exactly is capitalism, and why do its advocates support it? What are the main objections to capitalism that have been raised by its critics? Are there moral reasons to support capitalism, or to oppose it? In this time of globalization and economic turbulence, these questions could not be more timely or more important. This book provides some answers through seminal readings on the nature, purpose, and effects of capitalism as understood by its most influential expositors, both historical and contemporary. In addition to Adam Smith himself, the selections gathered here include essays and excerpts by thinkers ranging from Locke and Rousseau to Hayek and Cass Sunstein. All are chosen and arranged to highlight the ways that capitalism bears on a set of fundamental human concerns: liberty, equality, social order, virtue and motivation. If you want to develop an informed judgment about whether markets and morality mix, this anthology is a good place to begin.

The End of Socialism

The End of Socialism PDF Author: James Otteson
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107017319
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 239

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Book Description
"The End of Socialism explores the exact nature of the practical difficulties socialism faces and examines how its moral ideals can guide policy"--

Against the Left

Against the Left PDF Author: Llewellyn H Rockwell Jr
Publisher: Rockwell Communications LLC
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 113

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Book Description
Against the Left explores something basic to libertarianism that many people today have forgotten. As everyone knows, libertarians view the State and the individual as fundamentally opposed. People who freely interact in the market create on their own a wonderful society that advances progress. In Against the Left, we examine some key battlegrounds in the struggle to preserve and advance real libertarianism against its enemies. These include the assault on the family, civil rights and “disabilities,” immigration, environmentalism, economic egalitarianism, and the left–libertarian impostors who want to take libertarianism away from us.

A Student’s Guide to Socialism

A Student’s Guide to Socialism PDF Author: Paul H. Rubin
Publisher: Bombardier Books
ISBN: 1642936723
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 155

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Book Description
Whenever socialism has been tried, it has led to failure, and often, great human misery. Nonetheless, many young people prefer socialism to capitalism. There are dozens of books and articles explaining the failures of socialism, but these do not seem to have an impact on students. One reason for this may be that the books are written in abstract terms, and do not relate to the lives of the readers. This book takes a different approach. It asks the question, “What will my life be like if I live under socialism?” Professor Paul Rubin—a leading expert on socialism and capitalism—shows that under socialism: • People will be poorer • There will be less freedom • Goods will be of lower quality but more expensive • There will be less innovation • The environment will be in worse shape He also shows that the U.S. is the most productive and richest country that has ever existed, and that the current level of wealth in the U.S. is due to capitalism. Lastly, he demonstrates that many critiques of capitalism (such as, it leads to excessive inequality) are mistaken or ill-founded. Professor Rubin points out an important paradox. The young people who are the sharpest critics of capitalism are themselves highly dependent in their daily lives on the products of capitalism. These include computers themselves, mobile phones, Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, Uber, Skype, Spotify, computer games, and almost any other modern product. Additionally, the creators of these products are among the “millionaires and billionaires” despised by socialists.