The Darwin economy [electronic resource] : liberty, competition, and the common good / Robert H. Frank.
Frank, Robert H.
2011
HB95 .F723 2011eb
Available Online

Linked e-resources

Linked Resource Online Access

Details

Title The Darwin economy [electronic resource] : liberty, competition, and the common good / Robert H. Frank.
Author Frank, Robert H.
ISBN 9781400839377 (electronic book)
9780691153193
Imprint Princeton [N.J.] : Princeton University Press, c2011.
Language English
Description 1 online resource (xvi, 240 p.)
Call Number HB95 .F723 2011eb
Dewey Decimal Classification 330.12/2
Summary Who was the greater economist--Adam Smith or Charles Darwin? The question seems absurd. Darwin, after all, was a naturalist, not an economist. But Robert Frank, New York Times economics columnist and best-selling author of The Economic Naturalist, predicts that within the next century Darwin will unseat Smith as the intellectual founder of economics. The reason, Frank argues, is that Darwin's understanding of competition describes economic reality far more accurately than Smith's. And the consequences of this fact are profound. Indeed, the failure to recognize that we live in Darwin's world rather than Smith's is putting us all at risk by preventing us from seeing that competition alone will not solve our problems. Smith's theory of the invisible hand, which says that competition channels self-interest for the common good, is probably the most widely cited argument today in favor of unbridled competition--and against regulation, taxation, and even government itself. But what if Smith's idea was almost an exception to the general rule of competition? That's what Frank argues, resting his case on Darwin's insight that individual and group interests often diverge sharply. Far from creating a perfect world, economic competition often leads to "arms races," encouraging behaviors that not only cause enormous harm to the group but also provide no lasting advantages for individuals, since any gains tend to be relative and mutually offsetting. The good news is that we have the ability to tame the Darwin economy. The best solution is not to prohibit harmful behaviors but to tax them. By doing so, we could make the economic pie larger, eliminate government debt, and provide better public services, all without requiring painful sacrifices from anyone. That's a bold claim, Frank concedes, but it follows directly from logic and evidence that most people already accept.
Note Description based on print version record.
Bibliography, etc. Note Includes bibliographical references and index.
Access Note Access limited to authorized users.
Available in Other Form Darwin economy.
Linked Resources Online Access
Record Appears in Online Resources > Ebooks
All Resources
Paralysis
Darwin's wedge
No cash on the table
Starve the beast, but which one?
Putting the positional consumption beast on a diet
Perpetrators and victims
Efficiency rules
It's your money
Success and luck
The great tradeoff
Taxing harmful activities
The libertarian's objections reconsidered.

Browse Subjects

Show more subjects...

Statistics

from
to
Export