The Market
Ethics, Knowledge and Politics
John O'Neill, Lancaster University, UK
Following the failure of 'actually existing socialism' in Eastern Europe and Asia, a consensus has grown, on Left and Right, around the virtues of market economies. The Market: Ethics, Knowledge and Politics calls for a reappraisal of that consensus. It reviews the strongest arguments offered in defence of market economies and contests that they are often less compelling than recent opinion would suggest.
The arguments discussed include: those for markets from liberal neutrality, from welfare, from autonomy and freedom and from the forms of recognition it is taken to foster; the Austrian arguments at the heart of the socialist calculation debate concerning the 'calculation' and 'epistemic' virtues of the market; and arguments from within the public choice tradition. The author defends non-market institutions against the growing incursions of market norms, including a detailed discussion of the changing conceptions of intellectual property rights in science, and develops a case for associational socialism.
B would commend it strongly to those who - like myself - are likely to think that he is all wrong, as they will enjoy this book too, and find it makes them think, and wish to respond. And this is what work in social philosophy should be.' -Jeremy Shearmur, Australian National University
John O'Neill engages with the spirit of Hayek, one of the most sophisticated advocates of the market, to produce an informed economic, sociological and political critique, not only of the triumphalism of the right but also the acceptance of the market by the left.' - Steve Fleetwood, De Montford University
This book is a masterly analysis and criticism of arguments, old and new, for the rationality of the market system. It will long be a landmark in the debate about markets, as well as contributing to other crucial debates in ethics, politics and the philosophy of social science.' -Andrew Collier, University of Southampton
Economics as Social Theory
Published in the EU: April 1998 Published in North America: June 1998 234x156mm 6.25x9.25 inches: 240pp Hb: 0-415-09827-0 EU List Price: #50.00 US List Price: $85.00 Canadian List Price: $119.00
Pb: 0-415-15422-7 EU List Price: #15.99 US List Price: $25.99 Canadian List Price: $35.99
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