Book picks similar to
Preference, Value, Choice, and Welfare by Daniel M. Hausman
economics
philosophy
non-fiction
ethics
The Moral Economy: Why Good Incentives Are No Substitute for Good Citizens
Samuel Bowles - 2016
But incentives per se are not really the culprit. Bowles shows that crowding out occurs when the message conveyed by fines and rewards is that self-interest is expected, that the employer thinks the workforce is lazy, or that the citizen cannot otherwise be trusted to contribute to the public good. Using historical and recent case studies as well as behavioral experiments, Bowles shows how well-designed incentives can crowd in the civic motives on which good governance depends.
God of the Machine
Isabel Paterson - 1943
When it was published in 1943, Isabel Paterson's work provided fresh intellectual support for the endangered American belief in individual rights, limited government, and economic freedom. The crisis of today's collectivized nations would not have surprised Paterson; in The God of the Machine, she had explored the reasons for collectivism's failure. Her book placed her in the vanguard of the free-enterprise movement now sweeping the world.Paterson sees the individual creative mind as the dynamo of history, and respect for the individual's God-given rights as the precondition for the enormous release of energy that produced the modern world. She sees capitalist institutions as the machinery through which human energy works, and government as a device properly used merely to cut off power to activities that threaten personal liberty.Paterson applies her general theory to particular issues in contemporary life, such as education, .social welfare, and the causes of economic distress. She severely criticizes all but minimal application of government, including governmental interventions that most people have long taken for granted. The God of the Machine offers a challenging perspective on the continuing, worldwide debate about the nature of freedom, the uses of power, and the prospects of human betterment.Stephen Cox's substantial introduction to The God of the Machine is a comprehensive and enlightening account of Paterson's colorful life and work. He describes The God of the Machine as "not just theory, but rhapsody, satire, diatribe, poetic narrative." Paterson's work continues to be relevant because "it exposes the moral and practical failures of collectivism, failures that are now almost universally acknowledged but are still far from universally understood." The book will be essential to students of American history, political theory, and literature.
Living by your own Rules
Devdutt Pattanaik - 2016
His profound management sutras are derived from his bestselling books on business and management. They show how individuals can realize their potential, create wealth and achieve lasting success by following uniquely Indian principles (based on Hindu, Jain and Buddhist mythology) of goal setting, strategic thinking and decision-making.
Adam Smith: An Enlightened Life
Nicholas Phillipson - 2010
Yet Smith saw himself primarily as a philosopher rather than an economist and would never have predicted that the ideas for which he is now best known were his most important. This biography shows the extent to which Smith's great works, The Wealth of Nations and The Theory of Moral Sentiments, were part of one of the most ambitious projects of the Euruopean Enlightenment, a grand “Science of Man" that would encompass law, history, and aesthetics as well as economics and ethics, and which was only half complete on Smith’s death in 1790.Nick Phillipson reconstructs Smith’s intellectual ancestry and shows what Smith took from, and what he gave to, in the rapidly changing intellectual and commercial cultures of Glasgow and Edinburgh as they entered the great years of the Scottish Enlightenment. Above all he explains how far Smith’s ideas developed in dialogue with those of his closest friend, the other titan of the age, David Hume.
It's Not About the Money
Bob Proctor - 2008
The ancient laws of attraction are explained in plain language and applied in an economic framework—a new perspective not found in other popular explications of these principles. A path to prosperity is offered in tandem with guidance for achieving harmony in both professional and personal spheres while strategies to overcome destructive thinking patterns and to sustain the flow of wealth while channeling it constructively are delineated. Profiles of individuals who pursued their passion rather than profit, and subsequently reaped immense rewards, will inspire those seeking to transform their lives.
The Theory of Moral Sentiments
Adam Smith - 1759
Readers familiar with Adam Smith from The Wealth of Nations will find this earlier book a revelation. Although the author is often misrepresented as a calculating rationalist who advises the pursuit of self-interest in the marketplace, regardless of the human cost, he was also interested in the human capacity for benevolence — as The Theory of Moral Sentiments amply demonstrates.The greatest prudence, Smith suggests, may lie in following economic self-interest in order to secure the basic necessities. This is only the first step, however, toward the much higher goal of achieving a morally virtuous life. Smith elaborates upon a theory of the imagination inspired by the philosophy of David Hume. His reasoning takes Hume's logic a step further by proposing a more sophisticated notion of sympathy, leading to a series of highly original theories involving conscience, moral judgment, and virtue.Smith's legacy consists of his reconstruction of the Enlightenment idea of a moral, or social, science that embraces both political economy and the theory of law and government. His articulate expression of his philosophy continues to inspire and challenge modern readers.
Take Charge of Your Life: How to Get What You Need with Choice-Theory Psychology
William Glasser - 2011
William Glasser details the choice theory-a science of human behaviors and principles for regaining and maintaining internal control-and the role it can play in helping you regain your personal freedom and choice. "Take Charge of Your Life, " a revision of his 1984 book, "Control Theory, " includes choice-theory applications. He explains choice theory using personal examples and illustrative stories that allow you to learn how to improve your relationships and take charge of your actions. Topics include marital and relationship problems, parenthood, alcoholism, diseases, and psychosomatic disorders. For each situation discussed, Glasser ties behavior to the pictures of what people want in their heads. He explains how the pictures got there and how people can choose new behaviors to get what they really want. In "Take Charge of Your Life, " Glasser offers a real model of empowerment. He shows how you can become a part of the equation that adds happiness and connection to the world in which you live now and to the world of future generations.
A Humane Economy: The Social Framework of the Free Market
Wilhelm Röpke - 1958
Over and over, the great Swiss economist stresses one simple point: You cannot separate economic principles from human behavior.
Introducing philosophy
Open University - 2016
This 8-hour free course introduced the study of philosophy and the methods employed by The Open University in teaching philosophy.
The Magic of Believing (Original Classic Edition)
Claude Bristol - 2014
Times have changed since the late 1940s, but ambitions have not, and millions of Americans have drawn on the no-nonsense techniques described in The Magic of Believing to reach their dreams and achieve success. Obstacles have become a thing of the past, when they were “blasted” with Bristol’s powerful book, T.N.T.: It Rocks the Earth. Adhering to his corner- stone philosophy on the power of believing, T.N.T. offers practical suggestions on how to accurately and scientifically proceed to get what you want in life. In these 2 great books, you will learn: • How to project confidence
• How to impress your subconscious mind
• Why a focused aim leads to achievement.
• What your appearance reveals about you.
• The mental secret to success.
• How to transfer your thoughts to others
• To have a power at your command that astounds Let the wisdom the author imparts, infiltrate both your conscious and uncon- scious mind. It’s time to shift into high gear and forward motion, as you commit to your greatest and highest purpose. The late Claude M. Bristol was a lawyer, lecturer, investment banker, and foreign correspondent. He is the coauthor of the long-time best- seller, TNT: The Power Within. Claude Bristol’s tough-minded, hard-hitting message remains as fresh and focused today as when his books were first published, when the subconscious mind was less understood. Times have changed since the late 1940s, but ambitions have not, and millions of Americans have drawn on the no-nonsense techniques described in The Magic of Believing to reach their dreams and achieve success. Obstacles have become a thing of the past, when they were “blasted” with Bristol’s powerful book, T.N.T.: It Rocks the Earth. Adhering to his corner- stone philosophy on the power of believing, T.N.T. offers practical suggestions on how to accurately and scientifically proceed to get what you want in life. In these 2 great books, you will learn: • How to project confidence
• How to impress your subconscious mind
• Why a focused aim leads to achievement.
• What your appearance reveals about you.
• The mental secret to success.
• How to transfer your thoughts to others
• To have a power at your command that astounds Let the wisdom the author imparts, infiltrate both your conscious and uncon- scious mind. It’s time to shift into high gear and forward motion, as you commit to your greatest and highest purpose. The late Claude M. Bristol was a lawyer, lecturer, investment banker, and foreign correspondent. He is the coauthor of the long-time best- seller, TNT: The Power Within.
A Wish a Day for a Week
Amartya Sen - 2014
As he spars with the goddess who is often bemused by his demands, Sen writes of the seven changes he thinks India needs most, from improving the teaching of humanities to abolishing Article 377. Humorous in tone, yet deeply serious in intent, A Wish a Day for a Week is a marvellous essay and an important blueprint for India’s development from one of our great thinkers.
Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy
Joseph A. Schumpeter - 1942
When it first appeared the New English Weekly predicted that 'for the next five to ten years it will cetainly remain a work with which no one who professes any degree of information on sociology or economics can afford to be unacquainted.' Fifty years on, this prediction seems a little understated.Why has the work endured so well? Schumpeter's contention that the seeds of capitalism's decline were internal, and his equal and opposite hostility to centralist socialism have perplexed, engaged and infuriated readers since the book's publication. By refusing to become an advocate for either position Schumpeter was able both to make his own great and original contribution and to clear the way for a more balanced consideration of the most important social movements of his and our time.
Democracy: The God That Failed
Hans-Hermann Hoppe - 2001
Revisionist in nature, it reaches the conclusion that monarchy is a lesser evil than democracy, but outlines deficiencies in both. Its methodology is axiomatic-deductive, allowing the writer to derive economic and sociological theorems, and then apply them to interpret historical events.A compelling chapter on time preference describes the progress of civilization as lowering time preferences as capital structure is built, and explains how the interaction between people can lower time all around, with interesting parallels to the Ricardian Law of Association. By focusing on this transformation, the author is able to interpret many historical phenomena, such as rising levels of crime, degeneration of standards of conduct and morality, and the growth of the mega-state. In underscoring the deficiencies of both monarchy and democracy, the author demonstrates how these systems are both inferior to a natural order based on private-property.Hoppe deconstructs the classical liberal belief in the possibility of limited government and calls for an alignment of conservatism and libertarianism as natural allies with common goals. He defends the proper role of the production of defense as undertaken by insurance companies on a free market, and describes the emergence of private law among competing insurers.Having established a natural order as superior on utilitarian grounds, the author goes on to assess the prospects for achieving a natural order. Informed by his analysis of the deficiencies of social democracy, and armed with the social theory of legitimation, he forsees secession as the likely future of the US and Europe, resulting in a multitude of region and city-states. This book complements the author's previous work defending the ethics of private property and natural order. Democracy - The God that Failed will be of interest to scholars and students of history, political economy, and political philosophy.
American Cause
Russell Kirk - 1957
Russell Kirk, whose life and thought has recently been featured in C-SPAN's acclaimed American Writers series -- intended this little book to be an assertion of the moral and social principles upholding our nation. Kirk's primer is an aid to reflection on those principles -- political, economic, and religious -- that have united Americans when faced with challenges and threats from the enemies of ordered freedom. In this new age of terrorism, Kirk's lucid and straightforward presentation of the articles of American belief is both necessary and welcome. Gleaves Whitney's newly edited version of Kirk's work, combined with his insightful commentary, make The American Cause a timely addition to the literature of liberty.