Public Choice III

اختیار عمومی

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Participants •Citizens •Government •Context •Institutions •Theory •Institutional Economics •Economic Development •
Dennis C. Mueller • Apr 16, 2009 • (0) Comments •
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Russell Hardin of Stanford University says:

Dennis Mueller's book is certainly the most comprehensive and elegantly presented discourse on nearly a half century of research on public choice and ought to be required reading for any student of political science, if not social science generally. The material covered is virtually exhaustive of the field, and no one who wishes to understand this important subfield of social science should avoid consuming all that is offered here.

I admit, I myself have been avoiding reading this book. As have all the students I've recommended the book to.

It's a very thick book.

So here's a taste of it from chapter 2:

Public goods and prisoners' dilemmas

Probably the most important accomplishment of economics is the demonstration that individuals with purely selfish motives can mutually benefit from exchange. If A raises cattle and B corn, both may improve their welfare by exchanging cattle for corn. With the help of the price system, the process can be extended to accommodate a wide variety of goods and services.

Although often depicted as the perfect example of the beneficial outcome of purely private, individualistic activity in the absence of government, the invisible hand theorem presumes a system of collective choice comparable in sophistication and complexity to the market system it governs. For the choices facing A and B are not merely to trade or not, as implicitly suggested. A can choose to steal B's corn, rather than give up his cattle for it; B may do likewise. Unlike trading, which is a positive-sum game benefiting both participants in an exchange, stealing is at best a zero-sum game. What A gains, B loses. If stealing, and guarding against it, detract from A and B's ability to produce corn and cattle, it becomes a negative-sum game. Although with trading each seeks to improve his position and both end up better off, with stealing the selfish pursuits of each leave them both worse off.

Brilliant!

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