Karl Marx

Tenets of Economic Faith

This is the second post in the live-blogging Economics as Religion series. The first post was published on Monday, March 11. “To the extent that any system of economic ideas offers an alternative vision of the ‘ultimate values,’ or ‘ultimate reality,’ that actually shapes the workings of history, economics is offering yet another grand prophecy in the […]

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photo from boni_face (Flickr)

Economics as Religion: The Paradox of Self-Interest

Over the next few weeks, I will be live-blogging Robert H. Nelson’s Economics as Religion. Though the book is somewhat dated (published 2001), its discussion is still relevant. This is the first post in this series. Hope you enjoy! Introduction: The Market Paradox The role of self-interest in economic growth is a paradox. Of course, no serious […]

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gas

In Praise of Speculators

This article was originally published at Values and Capitalism. In recent years, the purported effect of oil speculators in raising the price of oil has sparked much debate and concern. Pundits of various political bents have sought an explanation for the rising price of oil among the activity of speculators, and legislation has recently been considered […]

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cuff

UNICOR undercuts economic fairness

Recently, a government corporation established as “Federal Prison Industries, Inc” (more commonly known as UNICOR), has gained attention in the public eye. Although UNICOR has been in existence since 1934, I first learned of its existence just last week while watching The Colbert Report. On October 7th, the Huffington Post ran this article criticizing UNICOR for undercutting small […]

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auction

What is the Economy?

The way “the economy” is discussed in our modern day has led to widespread misunderstanding about what “the economy” actually is. In the following, I will briefly share what it is, what it is not, and where the conversation about the economy has gone awry. What it is: The term “the economy” is used to […]

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President Obama Sounds like an Austrian Economist

Yes, the title is intentionally provocative. Last night I decided I would read President Obama’s nomination acceptance speech from the DNC. Truth be told, when taken out of context, the President said some things that resonate with the Austrian School of economics. The President rightly evaluated that there is no easy, quick and painless way for the U.S. […]

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rock

Organizing the Firm

The last subject covered by Nicolai Foss and Peter Klein in Organizing Entrepreneurial Judgment is the internal organization of the firm. Foss and Klein argue that the organization of the firm is critical to how entrepreneurial judgment will be manifested at different levels of the firm. Ownership rights are foundational for this organization to occur. […]

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