We do not say that the Public Choice School has not made any positive contribution to political economy. It has. The originators of it, James Buchanan and Gordon Tullock, along with their many followers and collaborators, have done important work on rational voter theory, setting up a meeting agenda, game theory, etc. Nor can we object to the application of economic theory to political issues. Far from it. However, the present book seeks to uncover its many failures. For example, the fact that underneath the veneer of its supposed adherence to value-free positive analysis lies a value-laden support for statism. To wit, its emphasis and reliance on “theoretical unanimity” not the actual unanimity incorporated in every commercial act under free enterprise. We also take issue with its nomenclature “rent seeking” albeit not the concept itself. Why pick on innocuous “rent” to describe crony capitalism?
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Analysis and Metaphysics is an international journal in scope, submissions and readership. The journal publishes contributions fitting within various philosophical traditions, but manifests a preference of the analytic tradition in the broad sense of commitment to clarity and responsibility. Analysis and Metaphysics will serve both as a forum for and as a liaison among those who are dedicated to advancing the basic principles of philosophy as a constructive permeative reflective force in our culture rather than to restricting them to the advantage of a limited and closed society of professional philosophers. In accordance with these aims, we welcome papers which may best develop and sustain a philosophical continuum between philosophers and professionals of other academic disciplines.
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An individualist usually believes that human beings, contrary to what socialists like Karl Marx or Auguste Comte thought, are first and foremost unique, irreplaceable members of the human species, capable of independent thought and action once they reach maturity, and free to choose their conduct based on their conscious thinking. As such, they require the kind of community that makes room for their independence, a community that protects individual rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of one’s chosen goals in life. Although members of the human species and thus possessing a few common attributes, human individuals are a varied lot and flourish best in communities that makes varied pursuits possible, such as the free market political economic order. From time immemorial the individuality of human beings has been evident (mostly so in creative realms such as art, religion and technology) although often suppressed by rulers who wanted a one size fits all type of society to serve their own objectives. So in various historical times it has been a struggle to forge political-legal systems that do full justice to our human individuality.
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Machan, a radical libertarian, addresses a wide array of political economic issues, in a variety of interviews he has given over five decades. This book is rich with insights from the classical liberal, laissez faire tradition, the only one that consistently supports the idea of a bona fide free society. Machan discusses innumerable topics with a relentless concern for securing individual human liberty in all of its dimensions.
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This book focuses on the notion of citizenship in relation to the notions of human rights, identity and culture. It poses the question of the prospects of a liberal cosmopolitan order dealing with a number of interrelated themes: ethics, emancipation and what Derrida calls the “new humanities;” identity, war and crimes against humanity; citizenship, and education rights within a knowledge economy; colonization, development and peace; changing notions of democracy within an information society; and culture, difference and otherness. These are the themes that make problematic aspects of the liberal cosmopolitan order. One of the main tropes connecting these themes is how the primary liberal values of freedom, emancipation and equality work out in a globalized world. The interrelationship of these values are problematized in different settings as they relate to issues of global world order with a focus on the adaptability of the liberal framework of values and law in creating a genuine cosmopolitan order.
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Contemporary Readings in Law and Social Justice promotes critical discussions on problems of social justice, including exploring the meanings of justice that arise in a diverse society, and draws on cross disciplinary research and scholarship to address social justice issues of immediate and wide ranging concern. Contemporary Readings in Law and Social Justice covers a range of topics relating to legal issues surrounding the impact of globalization on social development, providing legal scholars, practitioners, and policy makers with a forum to address and provide solutions to contemporary social issues that are currently under legislative or judicial consideration. Contemporary Readings in Law and Social Justice serves as a point of dialogue between activists, practitioners and academics, publishing writings that reflect theoretical, literary and hands-on approaches toward achieving social justice.
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Economics, Management, and Financial Markets provides a forum for theoretical, applied, policy and methodological research into social and economic issues, and publishes high quality original research on applied and theoretical issues related to the changing forms and boundaries of markets and planning, uneven development and world market instability; strategic management, organizational theory; securities trading and pricing. Strong emphasis is placed on critical perspectives, multidisciplinary approaches, the provision and use of empirical evidence, realistic analysis and accessibility to nonspecialists.
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The effort to make people equal in various important respects, e.g., wealth, health, education, burdens and advantages of all kinds, is the focus of criticism in this short work. I hold and argue that this effort is misguided, often very harmful and also frequently insidious, a guise for mischief by those who embark on the pursuit. The only valid form of equality pertains to people’s basic human individual rights—all who aren’t crucially incapacitated have these, so they are often called the equal rights of all persons. As regards politics and law this implies that no adult may be treated with special favor or disfavor by the legal authorities, whether in court or via public policy. Since the job of politics is to protect the equal rights of human individuals, everyone is equal under the law. But that’s the end of it, politically. Fairness is not a political good but one that has a role in various social contexts, such as family, teams, clubs, sport, beauty contests, and so forth. And fairness comes into play, other than in these areas, only when people voluntarily join some organization where they expect to be treated as all others who belong. Why so much fuss about equality and fairness? Some of the reasons have to do with the history of politics wherein kings and other rulers were expected to treat their subjects similarly, without favor to some of them and disfavor to others. And there is the tendency to extrapolate from family life, where parents are supposed to be fair to their children. Also, when teachers grade members of their classes, there is an implicit or explicit promise to do so unbiased, without special treatment of any (other than where justified, as when a student suffers from some impediment). But none of these imply or support the policies of egalitarianism. These and related topics comprise the content of this short volume and all egalitarians are invited to reflect on what is discussed here. In the tradition of classical political philosophy, this is not a technical, jargon-laden work, so any citizens can read it and gain food for thought.
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Geopolitics, History, and International Relations seeks to explore the theoretical implications of contemporary geopolitics with particular reference to territorial problems and issues of state sovereignty, and publishes papers on contemporary world politics and the global political economy from a variety of methodologies and approaches. Interdisciplinary and wide-ranging in scope, Geopolitics, History, and International Relations also provides a forum for discussion on the latest developments in the theory of international relations and aims to promote an understanding of the breadth, depth and policy relevance of international history. Its purpose is to stimulate and disseminate theory-aware research and scholarship in international relations throughout the international academic community. Geopolitics, History, and International Relations offers important original contributions by outstanding scholars and has the potential to become one of the leading journals in the field, embracing all aspects of the history of relations between states and societies. Journal ranking: A on a seven-point scale (A+, A, B+, B, C+, C, D). Geopolitics, History, and International Relations is published twice a year by Addleton Academic Publishers, 30-18 50th Street, Woodside, New York, 11377. All papers in this journal have undergone editorial screening and anonymous double-blind peer-review
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Journal of Research in Gender Studies is a peer-reviewed bilingual interdisciplinary journal that aims to publish critical and theoretical constructive contributions across the large spectrum of humanities – literature, law, history, philosophy, religion, and visual and performing arts (including music and theatre), anthropology, area studies, communication studies, cultural studies, and linguistics, social sciences, behavioral sciences, medicine and public health, science and technology, democracy studies, women’s studies, men and masculinity studies, queer studies.
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