Show or hide comments about the document.
Search over the document's text.
Share the document through social networks or e-mail.
After selecting an area on the page.
...you can:
copy the text
share the segment
comment
cite the document

Fall 2008

ISSN 0890-913X

Volume 24, Number 1

Categories: Politics | Fall 2008

Toward a Libertarian Reconstruction of Neoclassical Welfare Theory

Jeffrey Rogers Hummel, San Jose State University

Download

e-mail

<< Back to editing
Previous version by
<< Older
Newer >>
Revert to this one

Edit
Cancel
Fullscreen

Show comments
Zoom:
Page: / 12

Line spacing:
Word spacing:

Search:FindClose

search results

TheJournalofPrivateEnterprise24(1),2008,119-130TowardaLibertarianReconstructionofNeoclassicalWelfareTheoryJeffreyRogersHummel∗SanJoseStateUniversityAbstractManylibertarians,especiallythoseinclinedtowardtheAustrianschoolofeconomics,counterthemarket-failurejustificationforgovernmentinterventionbydenyinganylegitimacywhatsoevertotheneoclassicalconceptofefficiency.Butproperlyinterpreted,neoclassicalefficiency,ratherthanprovidinganopen-endedjustificationforallsortsofgovernmentintervention,providesoneofthemostpowerfulandcomprehensiveobjectionstogovernmentcoercioningeneral.JELCodes:D60,H10,H40Keywords:Welfareeconomics,Efficiency,Publicgoods,GovernmentI.IntroductionManylibertarians,aswellasotherfree-marketadvocates,haveextremereservationsaboutthewelfaretheoryofneoclassicaleconomics.Theyespeciallyobjecttothederivativenotionofmarketfailureandthefrequencywithwhichitisemployedtojustifygovernmentintervention.WhenlibertarianeconomistBryanCaplanrecentlydefendedwelfareeconomicsandotheraspectsofneoclassicalanalysisfromthecriticismsoftheAustrianschool,heelicitedanarrayofdissentingrepliesfromsuchAustriansasWalterBlock,JörgGuidoHülsmann,andEdwardStringham.Thesecriticsutterlyrejectneoclassicalefficiencyasacoherentstandardforcomparingdifferentoutcomesintherealworld.Indeed,Blockhasgonesofarastoassertthat“[t]herearenosuchthings”asmarketfailures.1∗IhavereceivedhelpfulsuggestionsfromPeterBoettke,MarkBrady,ChristopherCoyne,WarrenGibson,DavidHenderson,JosephSalerno,andEdwardP.Stringham,butnoneofthembearanyresponsibilityforthefinaloutcome.1Caplan(1999).ThefirstroundofcritiquescamefromBlock(1999)andHülsmann(1999).Caplan(2001)replied,whichinspiredafurtherresponsefromBlock(2003).Althoughmyarticlefocusesonwelfareeconomics,thedebate119

GLIFOS-digital_archive

Metadata [hide]

Title	Toward a Libertarian Reconstruction of Neoclassical Welfare Theory
Authors/Creators:	Jeffrey Rogers Hummel, San Jose State University
Year:	2008
Volume:	24
Number:	1
Pages:	119 - 130
Publisher:	The Association of Private Enterprise Education
ISSN:	0890-913X
Document Type:	Articles
Keywords:	Political science, Welfare economics, Efficiency, Government, Public goods

Citation:
Rogers Hummel, Jeffrey / 2008. "Toward a Libertarian Reconstruction of Neoclassical Welfare Theory." The Journal of Private Enterprise, 24(1): 119-130.