The Pareto optimum is usually described as a production or an exchange situation, or some combination, where no further improvement can be made to the position of one participant without harming that of another, and movements toward it are termed “efficient”. Perhaps most economists take the...

High inbuilt inflation is a frightening problem for many western societies, undermining not merely the efficiency of the economy but the moral strength of participants as well. There is a widespread if loose belief that the recommendations of economists amount to little more than moving the...

While disputes over the nature of economic science go back almost to its origins, the search for new directions and even some recasting has become more intense as slackening growth and virulent inflation heighten old quarrels over distribution and other issues. The alternative of “social”...

The social principle of an “option for the poor” is discussed in the light of Roman Catholic socio‐ethical thought, notably Papal Encyclicals since Vatican II. The consequences for the economy are outlined.

While Christian social principles harmonize with certain premisses of microeconomic theory, private property and freedom of behaviour for instance, deep‐rooted differences call for recasting certain foundations and pieces of analysis. Broad dissent concerns positive versus normative approach,...