Many economists have defended capitalism; most have tried to do so within the self-imposed methodological constraint that economists should employ only empirical arguments, not normative ones. This essay examines three classic amoral defenses of capitalism—by Milton Friedman, James Buchanan,...

Recent British welfare reform involves the creation of a managed welfare market for the delivery of employment programmes. This article critically reviews evidence on the development and impacts of such markets in Australia, the USA and the Netherlands. It considers the emergence of problems...