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Cover

Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

An Anthology

Jonathan Anomaly, Geoffrey Brennan, Michael C. Munger, and Geoffrey Sayre-McCord

Publication Date - June 2015

ISBN: 9780190207311

672 pages
Paperback
7-1/2 x 9-1/4 inches

In Stock

The first comprehensive anthology of classical and contemporary readings in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

Description

The only book on the market to include classical and contemporary readings from key authors in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE), this unique anthology provides a comprehensive overview of the central topics in this rapidly expanding field. Each chapter opens with an introduction that helps students understand the central arguments and key concepts in the readings. The selections encourage students to think about the extent to which the three disciplines offer complementary or contradictory ways of approaching the relevant issues. Philosophy, Politics, and Economics: An Anthology is ideal for undergraduate PPE programs and courses in political philosophy and political economy.

About the Author(s)

Jonathan Anomaly is Lecturer in the Duke-UNC program in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics.

Geoffrey Brennan is Research Professor of Political Science at Duke University, Professor of Philosophy at UNC Chapel Hill, and Professor of Economics at the Australian National University. He is the coauthor of Explaining Norms (OUP, 2013) and The Economy of Esteem (OUP, 2004).

Michael C. Munger is Professor of Political Science and Economics at Duke University. He is the coauthor of Choosing in Groups: Analytical Politics Revisited (2015).

Geoffrey Sayre-McCord is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at UNC Chapel Hill and the editor of Hume: Moral Philosophy (2006).

All four authors teach in and are members of the Duke-UNC program in philosophy, politics, and economics.

Reviews

"This book is an exceptionally well-developed and well-conceived anthology. It offers wide coverage, contains both foundational and applied articles, and includes more technical and more 'fun' work. It's something that an instructor could use in introductory and also advanced courses. The readings in this anthology are at the core of what it means to be an educated person."--Jason Brennan, Georgetown University

"Not simply an excellent Philosophy, Politics, and Economics reader, this anthology would also be the only one suitable for a gateway PPE course. For someone who doesn't want to design his or her syllabus from scratch, this reader offers a fantastic ready-made one."--Elizabeth Anderson, University of Michigan

Table of Contents

    Preface
    Introduction
    1. POLITICAL AUTHORITY
    Plato, Crito
    Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan
    John Locke, Popular Basis of Political Authority
    David Hume, Of the Original Contract
    Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract
    2. RATIONAL CHOICE
    Gary Becker, The Economic Way of Looking at Behavior
    David Schmidtz, Reasons for Altruism
    David Gauthier, Rationality: Maximization Constrained
    Gregory Kavka, The Toxin Puzzle
    3. GAME THEORY
    Simon Blackburn, Game Theory and Rational Choice
    Thomas Schelling, Dynamic Models of Segregation
    Gerry Mackie, Ending Foot Binding and Infibulation: A Convention Account
    Geoffrey Brennan and Gordon Tullock, An Economic Theory of Military Tactics: Methodological Individualism at War
    4. PROPERTY
    John Locke, Of Property
    David Hume, Of Justice and Property
    Karl Marx, Capital, "Primitive Accumulation"
    Thomas Paine, Agrarian Justice
    David Schmidtz, The Institution of Property
    5. MARKETS
    Market Advantages
    Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations, "Of the Division of Labor"
    Friedrich Hayek, The Use of Knowledge in Society
    Leonard Read, I, Pencil
    Market Fairness
    St. Thomas Aquinas, Sins Committed in Buying and Selling
    John Locke, What is a Fair Price?
    Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations, "Of the Expences of the Sovereign"
    Market Failures
    Tyler Cowen, Public Goods
    Jonathan Anomaly, Public Goods and Government Action
    David Friedman, Market Failures
    6. COLLECTIVE ACTION
    Mancur Olson, The Logic of Collective Action
    Jean Hampton, Free Rider Problems in the Production of Collective Goods
    Elinor Ostrom, Collective Action and the Evolution of Social Norms
    Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis, The Evolutionary Basis of Collective Action
    7. JUSTICE
    John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism
    John Rawls, A Theory of Justice
    Robert Nozick, Anarchy, State, and Utopia
    Gerald Cohen, Robert Nozick and Wilt Chamberlain: How Patterns Preserve Liberty
    8. EQUALITY
    Harry Frankfurt, Equality as a Moral Ideal
    Richard Arneson, Equality and Equal Opportunity for Welfare
    Amartya Sen, Equality of What?
    Robert Nozick, Equality of Opportunity
    Kurt Vonnegut, Harrison Bergeron
    9. COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS
    Steven Kelman, An Ethical Critique of Cost-Benefit Analysis
    Elizabeth Anderson, Cost-Benefit Analysis, Safety, and Environmental Quality
    David Schmidtz, A Place for Cost-Benefit Analysis
    10. PUBLIC CHOICE
    James Buchanan, Public Choice: Politics without Romance
    Anthony Downs, An Economic Theory of Political Action in a Democracy
    Michael Munger, Rent-Seek and You Will Find
    James Buchanan, How Can Constitutions Be Designed So That Politicians Who Seek to Serve "Public Interest" Can Survive and Prosper?
    Michael Huemer, Why People Are Irrational about Politics
    11. REASONS TO VOTE
    Geoffrey Brennan and Loren Lomasky, Is There a Duty to Vote?
    Jason Brennan, Polluting the Polls: When Citizens Should Not Vote
    Geoffrey Brennan and Geoffrey Sayre-McCord, Voting and Causal Responsibility
    12. LIBERTY AND PATERNALISM
    John Stuart Mill, On Liberty
    Gerald Dworkin, Paternalism
    Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, Libertarian Paternalism Is Not an Oxymoron
    13. MARKETS ON THE MARGIN
    Sex
    Martha Nussbaum, Whether from Reason or Prejudice: Taking Money for Bodily Services
    David Friedman, Marriage, Sex and Babies
    Drugs
    Michael Huemer, America's Unjust Drug War
    Peter de Marneffe, Against the Legalization of Drugs
    Jeffrey Miron, The Economics of Drug Prohibition and Drug Legalization
    Organs
    Arthur Caplan, Organ Transplantation
    Gerald Dworkin, Markets and Morals: The Case for Organ Sales
    Sweatshops
    Benjamin Powell and Matt Zwolinski, The Ethical and Economic Case Against Sweatshop Labor: A Critical Assessment
    Mathew Coakley and Michael Kates, The Ethical and Economic Case for Sweatshop Regulation
    Price Gouging
    Michael Munger, They Clapped: Can Price Gouging Laws Prohibit Scarcity?
    Jeremy Snyder, What's the Matter with Price Gouging?
    Matt Zwolinski, Price Gouging, Non-Worseness, and Distributive Justice

Teaching Resources

For Instructors:

  • Website (https://theihs.org/initiatives/ppe/): created and maintained by the authors, this site contains sample syllabi, exams, and game theory practice exercises, and offers ideas for how the text can be used in designing a PPE program