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Redeeming Economics: Free Markets and the Human Person PDF

480 Pages·2010·4.11 MB·English
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Praise for Redeeming Economics “The scope of Mueller’s intellectual ambition in this book is truly astonishing, as is the scope of the research involved. . . . People should invest the time needed to read, absorb, and promote this important book.” —Jennifer Roback Morse, Ph.D., in The Family in America: A Journal of Public Policy “For years I’ve watched John Mueller combine markets with morality to help fx what’s broken. Both Washington and Wall Street sorely need Redeeming Eco- nomics.” —Larry Kudlow, host of CNBC’s Kudlow and Company “John Mueller is that rarest of thinkers and writers: one who can make the ‘dismal science’ thoroughly engaging at a very human level—a man who knows his economics but never loses sight of people amidst a forest of data. Redeeming Economics is sure to provoke cries of ‘I protest!’ from various sorts of economists, and just as sure to demand some needed rethinking on everyone’s part.” —George Weigel, Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center “At the very least, John Mueller has written a bold, interesting, and thought- provoking book. But he may have done much more. He may have written a book that could fundamentally reground the discipline of economics and reori- ent the study of political economy. Serious students and thoughtful practitio- ners of both politics and economics need to read and refect upon this work.” —William Kristol, editor of the Weekly Standard “By restoring two millennia of lost economic theory and tracing its links with sound economic policy, John Mueller’s Redeeming Economics should revolution- ize the teaching and practice of political economy—not only in the United States but in every national community dedicated to the authentic common good.” —Lewis E. Lehrman, cofounder of the Gilder-Lehrman Institute of Ameri- can History, author of Lincoln at Peoria “Redeeming Economics provides an original perspective on economics, one that is soundly based in the work of three giants in the intellectual history of Western civilization: Aristotle, Augustine, and Aquinas. Anyone with either a practical or scholarly interest in economics would do well to take a close look at this book.” —Andrew V. Abela, chairman of the Department of Business and Eco- nomics at the Catholic University of America “Redeeming Economics achieves a double miracle: resurrecting the economic insights of ancient and medieval thinkers, and making a mathematically rigor- ous case that these deserve a central place in the policy debates of the present. It’s hard to imagine a more important contribution to economic science.” —Jeffrey Bell, director of policy for the American Principles Project “An accurate knowledge of history is critical as we choose our future paths. Redeeming Economics flls in many gaps in our collective understanding of the history of economics. My father would have had this book by his chair as I do now, and I hope our political leaders will as well.” —James P. Kemp, president of the Jack Kemp Foundation “Mueller turns popular economic myths on their heads. His book unearths a forgotten piece of the puzzle that could prove to be the holy grail of modern economics.” —Edwin Feulner, president of the Heritage Foundation “At a time when economists around the world are reexamining the way we think about economic decisions, Mueller presents an interesting and daring way to understand the way we make economic decisions and solve the distribu- tion problem notwithstanding the relational dimension of the human person. Redeeming Economics is a great contribution and service to economic science. A must read for all of us.” —Maria Sophia Aguirre, associate professor of economics at the Catholic University of America “At a time as never before when the world turns to economics for advice and wisdom, Redeeming Economics shows that all along there has been a hole in economics’ soul. Mueller conclusively proves that giving and sharing—which classical, neoclassical, and Marxist economics all consigned to the realm of the ‘noneconomic’—is no less than the very center of economic drive.” —Brian Domitrovic, author of Econoclasts “Economics and the relationships of humans need to be reintegrated. This is the genius and passion of John Mueller. His book gives history, wholeness, and hope to economics—and to our future.” —Jeff Kemp, founder of Stronger Families, senior fellow at the Marriage and Family Foundation Redeeming economics Culture of Enterprise series Previously published: Human Goods, Economic Evils: A Moral Approach to the Dismal Science Edward Hadas Third Ways: How Bulgarian Greens, Swedish Housewives, and Beer-Swilling Englishmen Created Family-Centered Economies— and Why They Disappeared Allan C. Carlson A Path of Our Own: An Andean Village and Tomorrow’s Economy of Values Adam K. Webb Econoclasts: The Rebels Who Sparked the Supply-Side Revolution and Restored American Prosperity Brian Domitrovic Toward a Truly Free Market: A Distributist Perspective on the Role of Government, Taxes, Health Care, Defcits, and More John C. Médaille Redeeming economics Rediscovering the Missing Element John d. muelleR Wilmington, Delaware Copyright © 2010 by John D. Mueller The Culture of Enterprise series is supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foun- dation. The Intercollegiate Studies Institute gratefully acknowledges this support. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connec- tion with a review written for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper, broadcast, or online publication. Mueller, John D. Redeeming economics : rediscovering the missing element / John D. Mueller. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-932236-94-1 1. Economics. 2. Economic history. 3. Natural law. I. Title. HB171.M84 2010 330—dc22 2010022232 ISI Books Intercollegiate Studies Institute 3901 Centerville Road Wilmington, DE 19807-1938 www.isibooks.org Manufactured in the United States of America To my wife, Linda Mallon, and my friend Lewis E. Lehrman, who know that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen” (Hebrews 11:1). contents Introduction: Rediscovering the Missing Element in Economics 1 Part 1 The Birth, Death, and Resurrection of Economics Chapter 1: Smithology and Its Discontents 11 Chapter 2: Scholastic Economics (c. 1250–1776) 17 Chapter 3: Classical Economics (1776–1871) 49 Chapter 4: Neoclassical Economics (1871–c. 2000) 77 Chapter 5: Neo-Scholastic Economics (c. 2000–) 107 Part 2 Personal Economy Chapter 6: The “Mother’s Problem” and Augustine’s Solution 133 Chapter 7: The Success and Failure of Neoclassical Economics 155 Chapter 8: An Empirical Test: Fatherhood and Homicide 175 Chapter 9: The Moral Implications of Scarcity: The Good Samaritan Paradigm 189 Part 3 Domestic Economy Chapter 10: Marriage, the “First Natural Bond of Human Society” 203 Chapter 11: Why Do Parents Give Children “Existence, Rearing, and Instruction”? 231 Chapter 12: How Neo-Scholastic Economics Explains Our Life Earnings and Spending 245 ix x Contents Part 4 Political Economy Chapter 13: Saving America’s Infant Industry 275 Chapter 14: The Theory of American Public Choice 283 Chapter 15: Injustice in Exchange: Unemployment 303 Chapter 16: Injustice in Exchange: Infation 327 Part 5 Divine Economy Chapter 17: The Three Worldviews 355 Notes 367 Acknowledgments 451 Index 453

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