as the economy tries to open his mouth, he invariably refers to the figure " and man in all this! "or" you evacuate human dimension. " This argument is so systematic that it can not even take the time to listen to the economist. While modern economic theory has taken a totally formalized, we must not forget that she is a human science par excellence. Moreover, the mathematical language is peculiar to man (and he soaks the various disciplines such as architecture, music, painting or physics). However, the object of study of economics can not be a disembodied atom.
The economy looks to man, particularly taking into account what is most fundamental in the human condition: self-awareness (rationale, decision, learning), the ability to innovate and create ( is almost unique in the living world) and finally ownership: the feeling of having a legitimate the fruits of his labor . Any social or political organization that does not take account of these dimensions, or taking risks to neutralize them, becomes totalitarian, and therefore literally inhuman.
Self-awareness involves the awareness of his own mortality . We realize that our time is limited, so we must make choices. Hence the division of labor that involves the exchange (which requires man to live in society). From this awareness comes the scarcity and hence value, and prices. Prices are only translate into figures the fact that we must make choices (what price) which leads to prioritize. In this sense, money is time (and not vice versa). Purchasing power is the power to buy other people's time, because I can not do everything alone (except to significantly reduce my standard of living). Because I just did not have enough time before me.
The economy looks to man, particularly taking into account what is most fundamental in the human condition: self-awareness (rationale, decision, learning), the ability to innovate and create ( is almost unique in the living world) and finally ownership: the feeling of having a legitimate the fruits of his labor . Any social or political organization that does not take account of these dimensions, or taking risks to neutralize them, becomes totalitarian, and therefore literally inhuman.
Self-awareness involves the awareness of his own mortality . We realize that our time is limited, so we must make choices. Hence the division of labor that involves the exchange (which requires man to live in society). From this awareness comes the scarcity and hence value, and prices. Prices are only translate into figures the fact that we must make choices (what price) which leads to prioritize. In this sense, money is time (and not vice versa). Purchasing power is the power to buy other people's time, because I can not do everything alone (except to significantly reduce my standard of living). Because I just did not have enough time before me.
Self-consciousness also implies the rationality . It is a human characteristic of choice. The spider spins its web in obedience to a genetic program. The moth falls into the fire, the other follows the butterfly and falls blindly. Man does knows nothing a priori, if not learn. If he puts his finger in the fire, it burns itself and therefore removing information: it is learning. He invented a torch. It is by learning that the man pre-acquired mastery of language, tools, agriculture, hunting, he became homo sapiens.
Man is a creator, an innovator. The spider weaves always the same canvas for millions of years. Man learns constantly and learning, he is constantly innovating. The first man has to feel very vulnerable, although handicapped face the ferocity of wild beasts, speed antelope or the power of mammoths. It's a handicap that has pushed to innovate. Man is the only to have this ability, which allows him to learn to adapt, turning a handicap into innovation. Economic theory by becoming a growth theory ( The Wealth of Nations, the seminal work of Adam Smith), focusing on the dynamics of the economy, put innovation at the heart of his analysis . For never forget that this is not poverty to be explained (poverty is the natural state is required to man), but the wealth that is against nature, which is exceptional (and you can lose if we no longer understand how the economy).
Finally, the ownership is linked to self-consciousness . The man spontaneously felt he was the owner of the legitimate fruits of his labor. Starting in the hunt in search of food, the man put his life at stake, it could itself become the most dangerous game predator.
Thus, when he returned safely with the game, he had paid for taking the risk (the price of risk and sweat). Ownership follows from the energy expended in the work and the risk involved on this occasion. This sense of self and property is a natural element that greatly determines the choices and behaviors of individuals. Thus, the political systems that respect and protect property rights encourages people to produce wealth. Of course, to protect property, we need a suitable legal and institutional environment (contract, justice, police), and therefore a certain environment in terms of public goods. To finance this public good, we must raise taxes to some extent. These taxes will just and legitimate to the extent they are able to finance an apparatus for protecting the fruits of labor. They will be felt by cons as a theft from the time the taxes plunder the fruits of the work themselves .
In this sense, the property is intimately linked to freedom . Insofar as the slave does not belong to himself, the fruits of his work does not belong to him. It is degraded to the condition of a free man. But man is by nature a free insofar as his choices will greatly dictate his life. Animals act by instinct, men must make choices. In countries fully collectivized, where private ownership is not allowed, people are freed from the burden and responsibility of having to make choices: because they no longer control their lives. They are no longer free. It is characteristic of totalitarian societies where the economy is completely planned and controlled by the state or the ruling Communist Party. But these companies face a yearning, rooted in the heart of the human condition: human beings can not live without freedom, and thus of self-ownership and therefore ownership of the fruits of his labor.
Man is a creator, an innovator. The spider weaves always the same canvas for millions of years. Man learns constantly and learning, he is constantly innovating. The first man has to feel very vulnerable, although handicapped face the ferocity of wild beasts, speed antelope or the power of mammoths. It's a handicap that has pushed to innovate. Man is the only to have this ability, which allows him to learn to adapt, turning a handicap into innovation. Economic theory by becoming a growth theory ( The Wealth of Nations, the seminal work of Adam Smith), focusing on the dynamics of the economy, put innovation at the heart of his analysis . For never forget that this is not poverty to be explained (poverty is the natural state is required to man), but the wealth that is against nature, which is exceptional (and you can lose if we no longer understand how the economy).
Finally, the ownership is linked to self-consciousness . The man spontaneously felt he was the owner of the legitimate fruits of his labor. Starting in the hunt in search of food, the man put his life at stake, it could itself become the most dangerous game predator.
Thus, when he returned safely with the game, he had paid for taking the risk (the price of risk and sweat). Ownership follows from the energy expended in the work and the risk involved on this occasion. This sense of self and property is a natural element that greatly determines the choices and behaviors of individuals. Thus, the political systems that respect and protect property rights encourages people to produce wealth. Of course, to protect property, we need a suitable legal and institutional environment (contract, justice, police), and therefore a certain environment in terms of public goods. To finance this public good, we must raise taxes to some extent. These taxes will just and legitimate to the extent they are able to finance an apparatus for protecting the fruits of labor. They will be felt by cons as a theft from the time the taxes plunder the fruits of the work themselves .
In this sense, the property is intimately linked to freedom . Insofar as the slave does not belong to himself, the fruits of his work does not belong to him. It is degraded to the condition of a free man. But man is by nature a free insofar as his choices will greatly dictate his life. Animals act by instinct, men must make choices. In countries fully collectivized, where private ownership is not allowed, people are freed from the burden and responsibility of having to make choices: because they no longer control their lives. They are no longer free. It is characteristic of totalitarian societies where the economy is completely planned and controlled by the state or the ruling Communist Party. But these companies face a yearning, rooted in the heart of the human condition: human beings can not live without freedom, and thus of self-ownership and therefore ownership of the fruits of his labor.
Hence the central idea of a constitution in a free country: protecting the individual risk of abuse of power by the state. Protect democracy from itself: after all, Hitler came to power democratically . However, the majority rule is a dangerous law that must carefully confine the application (it is up to the Constitution to establish the rules of the game). One can not generalize democracy in the enterprise, university, or in families without at the same time spread chaos. It is that reflection on property rights, incentives, market signals, the boundary between public goods and private goods is a key aspect of economic theory .
We see that man in his highest aspirations, but also sometimes the most contradictory, is at the heart of economic thinking. Must still take the trouble to understand the full scope of his teachings.
0 comments:
Post a Comment