Capitalism’s cure for economic sins

Law & Liberty/Richard Morrison/11-9-2022

“When it comes to the biggest debate of economic policy – whether governments should exercise more or less control over economic life – Otteson’s major assumption is simple: as human beings, we all have an equal worth and an equal moral agency. Thus, interventions into the market economy, whether they be large or small, are presumptively illegitimate because they supersede the judgment of peacefully contracting parties.”

USAGOLD note: Morrison reviews the lifetime work of Notre Dame philosopher and business ethics expert, James Otteson – who in turn has spent his own life writing about and researching the work of Scottish philosopher, Adam Smith (The Wealth of Nations, The Theory of Moral Sentiments). “Anyone who takes economic ideas and their moral implications seriously would do well to clear space on their bookshelf for Seven Deadly Economic Sins,” says Morrison. Otteson champions a philosophy likely to resonate among USAGOLD’s clientele.