The Ethics of CompetitionThe Ethics of Competition is a book of Frank H. Knight's writings on a common theme: the problem of social control and its various implications. Knight believed in free economic institutions but was also aware that the competitive economic system could be improved. One of the central figures of neoclassical economics in the twentieth century, Knight pursued a lifelong campaign against irrationalities of nationalism, religious fanaticism, and group conflict, while conceding that these were fundamental orientations of human action that might yet frustrate his own work as an economist. While Knight vigorously defended human freedom and the liberal order, he also was sufficiently moved by the shortcomings of liberalism as to condemn it as rife with abuse. As Richard Boyd writes in the new introduction, The Ethics of Competition is nothing short of visionary. Knight foresaw virtually all of the reductionistic tendencies that have come to plague the discipline he cultivated, neoclassical economic theory. Even more impressively, Knight related these disciplinary proclivities back to themes as grand as the fate of liberal democracy and human nature. Boyd discusses Knight's belief that the human craving for simple, mechanical explanations inevitably leads to frustration rather than material satisfaction. Chapters in The Ethics of Competition include "Economic Psychology and the Value Problem," "The Limitations of Scientific Method in Economics," "Marginal Utility Economics," "Fallacies in the Interpretation of Social Cost," and "Economic Theory and Nationalism." This volume will be of essential value to economists, political theorists, philosophers, and sociologists. |
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... fact come to plague the discipline he cultivated , and even more impressively , Knight related these disciplinary proclivities back to themes as grand as the fate of liberal democracy and human nature itself . This critical stance ...
... fact that at moments Knight seems to argue the best case on both sides of the question as to the competitive system's ultimate merit . For instance , at moments early on in his career , Knight argues that freedom carried to an extreme ...
... fact that any social reform takes a corresponding toll on human freedom . Second , Knight leads us to the important recognition that the pur- suit of economic equality is not merely a matter of individual pecuni- ary endowments ...
... fact and argument and greatly improved this essay . Those errors remaining are the author's responsibility alone . In various ways Joseph Epstein , Ralph Lerner , Carey McWilliams , Gordon Schochet , Edward Shils , and Stuart Warner all ...
... fact that Knight's early interest were primarily philosophical and he remained an econo- mist to the end of his life . Despite what it obscures , I believe it remains a useful distinction . 9. I am indebted in this and the subsequent ...