Edited by David Schmidtz and John Thrasher
- How do agents in the marketplace manage to cooperate?
- When does such cooperation make the world a better place?
- What do agents in the marketplace need to do in order to succeed?
- What do they need to do to deserve to succeed?
This text includes an introduction by David Schmidtz which gives readers a nontechnical overview of an ethical framework for evaluating both market behavior and market institutions. This is an ideal reader for classes in political philosophy, business ethics, ethics and economics, or contemporary moral problems. The readings selected for Creating Wealth are organized in seven topical chapters:
- Cooperation and Division of Labor
- Trust and Trade
- Responsibility and Externalities
- Mutual Respect and Exploitation
- Self-Respect and Alienation
- Order and Incentives
- Equality and Mutual Advantage
About David Schmidtz
David Schmidtz is Kendrick Professor of Philosophy, Joint Professor of Economics, and founding Director of the Center for Philosophy of Freedom at the University of Arizona, which is ranked first in the world in the field of political philosophy by Philosophical Gourmet. David is author of Rational Choice and Moral Agency (Princeton), Elements of Justice (Cambridge), Person, Polis, Planet (Oxford), and co-author with Jason Brennan of A Brief History of Liberty (Blackwell).
Table of Contents of Creating Wealth
The language of ethics: introduction
Chapter 1 - Good Fences and Good Neighbors: Foundations of Community
- Tragedy of the Commons (by Garrett Hardin)
- Two treatises of Government (by John Locke)
- The Institution of Property (by David schmidtz)
- Chapter 1: Reflection
Chapter 2 - Trade and Cooperation: Foundations of Progress
- Wealth of Nations: Book I (by Adam Smith)
- What Is Seen and What Is Not Seen (by Frederic Bastiat)
- Opportunity Cost (by Steven Rhoads)
- The Use of Knowledge in Society (by F.A. Hayek)
- Chapter 2: Reflection
Chapter 3 - Financial Crisis and Personal Responsibility: The Ethics and Economics of Credit
- The Five Mysteries of Capital (by Hernando de Soto)
- Liberty After Lehman Brothers (by Loren Lomasky)
- The Perfect Storm (by Jeffrey Friedman)
- Chapter 3: Reflection
Chapter 4 - Good Will and the Will to Power: The Ethics and Economics of Regulation
- The Man of System (by Adam Smith)
- Price Fixing (by Adam Smith)
- Politics Without Romance (by James M. Buchanan)
- J.J. Hill (by Burton Folsom)
- A Negative Railroad (by Frederic Bastiat)
- An Immense Discovery! (by Frederic Bastiat)
- Conflict of Principles (by Frederic Bastiat)
- Rational Ignorance and Political Morality (by Guido Pincione and Fernando R. Tesón)
- Chapter 4: Reflection
Chapter 5 - Risk and Compassion: On the limits of Moral Obligation
- Famine, Affluence, and Morality (by Peter Singer)
- Islands in a Sea of Obligation (by David Schmidtz)
- The Classic Case for Collectivization Restated (by Robert Goodin)
- Guarantees (by David Schmidtz)
- Chapter 5: Reflection
Chapter 6 - Preferences and Communities: On Political Ideals
- Freedom as a Political Ideal (by Steven Wall)
- The Idea and Ideal of Capitalism (by Gerald Gaus)
- Equal Respect and Equal Shares (by David Schmidtz)
- Why Not Socialism (by G.A. Cohen)
- Try Freedom (by Molly Thrasher)
- Chapter 6: Reflection (with James Otteson)
Chapter 7 - Price and Dignity: Exploitation in the Marketplace
- Wage Labor and Capital (by Karl Marx)
- Sweatshops, Choice, and Exploitation (by Matt Zwolinski)
- Euvoluntary Exchange and the Creation of Wealth (by Michael Munger)
- For-Profit Business as Civic Virtue (by Jason Brennan)
- The Ethics of Price Gouging (by Matt Zwolinski)
- Noxious Markets (by Debra Satz)
- Chapter 7: Reflection (with Tristan Rogers)
Chapter 8 - Self-Respect and Alienation: Alienation in the Marketplace
- Wealth of Nations: Book 5, Chapter 1, Article II (by Adam Smith)
- Alienation (by Karl Marx)
- Critique of the Gotha Programme, Section I (by Karl Marx)
- Chapter 8: Reflection
