Premium
ECONOMICS AND THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN VOLUNTARY AND COERCIVE ACTION 1
Author(s) -
Klein Daniel B.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
economic affairs
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.24
H-Index - 18
eISSN - 1468-0270
pISSN - 0265-0665
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-0270.2007.00783.x
Subject(s) - action (physics) , voluntary action , positive economics , law and economics , economics , political science , law , sociology , social science , physics , quantum mechanics , agency (philosophy)
In economics, considerations of liberty are generally regarded as a secondary question of ‘policy implications’ and a matter of mere opinion. This essay rejects the relegation of liberty to such a status. It argues that the distinction between voluntary and coercive action, rooted in concepts of private ownership and consent, and forming the basis of liberty, should play a fundamental role in the way economic issues and arguments are formulated.