Economics vs Justice

Economists reduce human relationships to mathematics — most egregiously so when it comes to justice. Now they do have a point. There’s something called commutative justice. I pay you $10, and in return you give me something worth $10. Equal exchange. Mathematical justice. Important. Nobody wants to be cheated. But not everyone distinguishes that from……

A Bizarre Theory That All Economists Believe

Back when I taught Economics to gullible undergrads, and to even more gullible grad students, I posed a conundrum. (I couldn’t push it too hard for fear of heresy.) But it’s actually not that difficult if put in straightforward terms, so those who have not been afflicted with Economics courses should bear with me. It……

The Rise and Fall of Guaranteed Income

It’s an old idea. Establish a bottom line of poverty — below which no one must be allowed to fall. Abu Bakr, Islam’s first Caliph, introduced the concept in the 6th Century. Napoleon later fielded the idea in Europe, as did Thomas Paine in the USA. Then came a flood of proposals — to establish……

Preference for the Poor

There are so many issues around poverty, but the spiritual issue is largely ignored in our consumption-worshipping culture. We’re all supposed to be medium-poor in our frugality of spirit, as we renounce the excesses of empty affluence. Instead we glut ourselves on all the commodities we can wring out of the market, and we ignore……

Basic Income – The High Cost of Dithering

Opposition to a Guaranteed Income System (GIS) is so bizarre. People talk about it being too expensive as if the alternative weren’t ten times worse. They say it will kill the incentive to work as if there are going to be jobs in the future. Let’s talk about that second point before we get into……

Economic Armageddon

Armageddon’s kind of a stretch, eh? Well, yeah, but only a stretch. If we get all calm and analytical and social-scientist about it — armageddon includes wholesale moral and social breakdown — system breakdown. And that’s totally on the agenda. It comes to the fore with the Trump fiasco. He’s no libertarian — they believe……

Elinor and the Fake Tragedy

You’ll find few prominent woman economists. It’s an Old Boys’ Club from way back. You’ll find even fewer female economists winning the Nobel Prize in Economics — like none. None until Elinor Ostrim, that is, in 2009. But she was no ordinary economist. She took on the old boys right where it hurt. She debunked……