The social encyclical Rerum Novarum closely links the question of poverty with that of property, and invokes Thomas Aquinas. But on closer examination, the reasoning developed in favour of property departs from the scholastic thinker, since it maintains more affinities with the liberal tradition...

The Italian economist Enrico Barone (1859- 1924) is best known for his contributions to marginal productivity theory and the socialist planning debate. This paper analyzes Barone’s contributions to the theory of perfect competition which are largely ignored in the secondary literature. It...

Tocqueville has been described as nostalgic of former times and aristocracy. According to this view, his criticisms of democracy show his preference for aristocratic societies. Here I try to show that it is not nostalgia, but his acute perception of the advantages and shortcomings of democracy...