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Monthly Archives: May 2012
Price Controls
Chapter 15 of Shawn Ritenour’s Foundations of Economics discusses a government intervention into the economy so obviously flawed that even most mainstream economists condemn it. Moreover, even a large number of government officials seem to understand that it doesn’t work. … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Economics
Tagged Foundations of Economics, Ludwig von Mises, minimum wage, price ceilings, price controls, price floors, rent control, Shawn Ritenour, shortage, surplus
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Macroeconomic Policy
In Chapter 14 of Foundations of Economics, Shawn Ritenour discusses macroeconomic policy, focusing on the monetarist and Keynesian schools. He first outlines their tenets and then explains why he considers each a flawed approach to the questions of inflation and … Continue reading
Inflation and Recession
Chapter 13 of Shawn Ritenour’s Foundations of Economics marks a significant change in the author’s approach. Up to this point, the discussion of economic phenomena has been purely descriptive. Ritenour follows Ludwig von Mises in arguing that economics as a … Continue reading
Bad Philosophy Leads to Moral Corruption
It’s Great Books Monday, and this week we’ll come within a whisker of our 8,000th page of reading since January 2011. Things sure do add up after awhile. Here are the readings for the upcoming week: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Liberal Arts
Tagged Aristotle, Augustine, Charles Darwin, Great Books, Mark Twain, Plutarch, Thomas De Quincey
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Money and Its Purchasing Power
In Chapter 12 of Foundations of Economics, Shawn Ritenour inally gives us a detailed discussion of “what makes the world go round.” For something that is universally used, it seems as though the understanding of money in our society is pretty … Continue reading
More on Environmental Religion
I’ve posted a time or two about how environmentalism behaves like a religion in many ways. Here, for example, I discuss the religious language used in connection with national parks, and here I post about predictions for a “new god” … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Culture
Tagged environmentalism, religion, Research on Religion, Robert Nelson, secular religion
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The Production Structure and the Social Economy
In Chapter 11 of Foundations of Economics, Shawn Ritenour makes the transition from what is often called “microeconomics” to what is often called “macroeconomics,” where the discussion centers on “big stuff” like business cycles, inflation, and unemployment. He disapproves of this … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Economics
Tagged capital, Foundations of Economics, GDP, interest, profit, rent, Shawn Ritenour, stock, structure of production
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Competition and the Number of Sellers
Chapter 10 of Shawn Ritenour’s Foundations of Economics treats us to an analysis of three phenomena that have been the subjects of much discussion, not to say hand-wringing, over the past 150 years: cartels, monopolies, and labor unions. In the process of … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Economics
Tagged cartels, competition, Foundations of Economics, labor unions, monopoly, Shawn Ritenour
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How Would Aristotle Describe YOUR Friendships?
It’s Great Books Monday once again, and I’d like to note that in this program’s most difficult genre (for me), science and mathematics, we’re going to pass the 1,600-page mark this week. But if you’re just joining us, don’t despair; … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Liberal Arts
Tagged Aristotle, Augustine, Charles Darwin, Francis Bacon, Great Books, Lucius Apuleius, Mark Twain
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Prices of Factors of Production
Chapter 9 of Shawn Ritenour’s Foundations of Economics deals with something readers might think was already covered sufficiently in the earlier chapters on market prices: prices of factors of production. This is the final category of income received by market participants (in … Continue reading
The Western Tradition 