Questions tagged [economics]
51 questions
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Is it unfair for the rich to pay more total taxes ( not by percentage ) than the poor?
Is there a compelling ethical argument why the rich ought to pay more in income taxes than the poor? For the purposes of this discussion let's assume "the rich" legally earned their wealth through either hard work or plain luck - nothing illegal.…
RobertF
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What are the Moral Sentiments of Capitalism according to Adam Smith?
Despite his legacy as the father of capitalism and authority on jurisprudence especially toward the end of his career, Adam Smith is usually known in ethics and philosophy classes by his classic The Theory of Moral Sentiments. In the way…
Paradox Lost
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Whats the difference between fixed and constant capital?
Rosa Luxembourg in The Accumulation of Capital describes & investigates the constant and fixed capital of Marx & Smith respectively.
With Marx, she says Constant capital is the value invested in the means of production.
In Chapter 2, she…
Mozibur Ullah
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What responses have there been to Mises' theory of praxeology?
In his treatise Human Action, Austrian School economist Ludwig von Mises attempts to establish economics not as an empirical science, or a mathematical theory, but as a synthetic a priori endeavor he calls praxeology. Praxeology is supposed to be a…
Keshav Srinivasan
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Does capitalism have an end goal?
Occasionally I find that things such as "incentives" in a capitalist economy are as if they would be directed to a certain outcome or certain outcomes. E.g. that profit incentives matter only in so far the firm or the individual finds profit…
mavavilj
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What is an example of human labour being the exclusive source of surplus value
Marx's labour theory seems to define surplus value as being produced exclusively from human labour. One discussion of this concept stated:
Machinery, and tools of production do not create surplus value; they
are a product of previous labour…
LaserJesus
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What determines the value of money?
The value of money can be defined as the cost to produce it. It costs, say, 1, to produce 10 000 000 coins or notes, while digital money costs virtually nothing. Of course, it can also be that it costs 10 to produce 1 (it depends on the value...),…
user52804
5
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1 answer
Was John Locke an intellectual father of "economic growth" as a social goal?
I am researching on the origin of the "economic growth imperative". In this book it says:
A central theme of Locke's political teachings is growth; a theme which will not only be central to the philosophy of the liberal state, but also to the other…
luchonacho
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Philosophers on alternatives to capitalism and communism
Philosopher Karl Marx envisioned an economic system called communism to fight the abuses suffered by working class people during the industrial era. The exploitation of man by man
and the excessive power given to a few wealthy aristocrats and the…
user22051
5
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3 answers
Ownership of the commons
A recent article from The Guardian explores the ambitions of the Luxembourg government in developing commercial space activity in the country. This move was partly enfranchised in the law. As the article says:
in July, the parliament passed its law…
luchonacho
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5
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Libertarian "thought experiment" about planned economy
I once stumbled upon a text from a libertarian (I believe it was a philosopher) setting out a thought experiment to show that even a planned economy run by "omniscient bureaucrats" would produce inferior results than a free market.
Sadly I have…
Ystar
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5
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How to approach the study of PPE for the non-academic layman?
I'm a non-academic type (I left school at 16) who is also dyslexic with attention deficit problems. I've recently become interested in the study of philosophy, politics and economics (To answer questions from my own life such as: the ethics of…
jdoig
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5
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The mass surveillance of price and the invisible hand?
In Hayeks Road to Serfdom, he distinguishes between central planning & decentralised planning. And states that decentralised planning makes the most sense, since the available information is too large to collect for any central planning to be…
Mozibur Ullah
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Does this count as a critique of Marxs Labour theory of value?
Marxs theory of value uses the input of Labour as determinining Production Value. But what if we can do away with Labour?
For example, consider a perfectly automated factory producing mugs.
This has no labour input. (To set up the factory requires…
Mozibur Ullah
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4
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Ethical problems related to trading for profit
Let us for the sake of clarity define making of a profit as being the trade of that which is given being of lower value than that which is demanded and received.
In general, and not withstanding secondary ethical considerations (such as the…
Avestron
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