Purpose – The paper examines the dependence of the positivist and welfarist preference satisfaction paradigm of neoclassical economics upon an implicit functionalist philosophy of mind. Functionalism is the doctrine that mental states are strictly materialistic and understandable in...

Purpose – The concept of “price gouging” during times of emergency, such as in the aftermath of Katrina, often evokes quite an emotional and reactive response from people who are outraged that stores and companies would increase their prices during a time of emergency. The problem is that...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the accounts of self- and world-ownership in the social philosophy of Henry George, and a Georgist social theorist Nicolaus Tideman. Design/methodology/approach – The accounts of George and Tideman are evaluated using the tool of conceptual...

Purpose – Henry George was acclaimed by the general public and disdained by the professional economists, largely for the same reasons. For the general public, progress, and poverty seemed to go to the heart of the matter, treating economics as a question of justice. But for the professionals,...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze some of the unseen negative effects of the post-Katrina government policies dealing with housing in New Orleans. Design/methodology/approach – Since Hurricane Katrina, the government, along with private for profit and not-for-profit...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explain the virtues (despite Moellendorf's criticisms) of the geoliberal framework of social justice, which assumes that people have rights to themselves and that all people have equal rights to natural opportunities. Design/methodology/approach –...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to revisit old questions of the proper subject and bounds of economics: does economics study “provisioning”? or markets? or a method of reasoning, self-interested rational optimization? Design/methodology/approach – A variety of scholars and others...

Purpose – The purpose is to show the importance of language in economic activity and encourage economists to pay more attention to language than hitherto. Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines John Searle's work and consider its implications for economic theory. It discusses...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which Benjamin Franklin's understanding of political economy was shaped by his association with the French school of writers known as physiocrats. Design/methodology/approach – The paper works from direct statements by Franklin...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast three-factor models of boom and bust from Henry George, Knut Wicksell and Mason Gaffney. Design/methodology/approach – The approach takes the form of an analysis and discussion and mathematical appendix. Findings – It was found...