Can Capitalism Survive?. Benjamin A. Rogge

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       Can Capitalism Survive?

      This book is published by Liberty Fund, Inc., a foundation established to encourage study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals.

      The cuneiform inscription that serves as our logo and as a design element in Liberty Fund books is the earliest-known written appearance of the word “freedom” (amagi), or “liberty.” It is taken from a clay document written about 2300 B.C. in the Sumerian city-state of Lagash.

      © 1979 by Liberty Fund, Inc.

      This eBook edition published in 2012.

      eBook ISBN: E-PUB 978-1-61487-154-5

       www.libertyfund.org

      Contents

Foreword

Part I Can Capitalism Survive?

Introduction

Chapter 1 Can Capitalism Survive?

Part II The Philosophy of Freedom

Introduction

Chapter 1 The Case for Economic Freedom

The Moral Case

Basic Values Considered

Individual Freedom of Choice

Noneconomic Freedoms

Partly Socialized

Each Step Leads to Another

Impersonality of the Market

Chapter 2 The Libertarian Philosophy

Chapter 3 Who’s To Blame?

Society on Trial

Responsibility Is Personal

Chapter 4 Paradise in Posey County

Part III On the Nature of Economics

Introduction

       Chapter 1 Adam Smith: 1776-1976

       Smith’s Basic Argument

       Smith’s Thinking Applied to the Problems of His Day

       Is Smith Still Relevant?

       Chapter 2 Christian Economics: Myth or Reality?

       Economics as a Pure Science

       Economics as Something Less than a Pure Science

       Economics as Something More than a Pure Science

       Some Basic Assumptions

       Christian Economics: A Case Study

       Minimum Wages

       Trade Unions

       Social Security

       Redistribution of Income

       Under Which Christian Precept Can Force Be Justified?

       The Personal Practice of Freedom

       If Economists Disagree, Let Christians Be Tolerant

       Chapter 3 College Economics: Is It Subversive of Capitalism?

       Part IV On the Business System

       Introduction

       Chapter 1 Profits

       Are Profits Now Too High or Too Low?

       The Concept of Normal Profits

       The Concept of Market Structure

       Product Markets

       Resource Markets

       The Impact of Taxes

       Summary

       Chapter 2 The Businessman

       Part V On Labor Markets

       Introduction

       Chapter 1 The Labor Monopoly

       I Review of Opposing Views

       The Human-Relations Approach

       The Macroeconomic Approach

       The Approach of the Labor Economists

       II Criticism of Current Policy

       III Conclusions

       Part VI On Money and Inflation

       Introduction

       Chapter 1 The Long-Run Economic Outlook

       Misconceptions about Inflation

       The Prophecy

       Chapter 2 Alleged Causes of Inflation: Corporate Monopolies

       Market Power and Inflation

       Can Inflation Be Cured by Making the Economy More Competitive?

       Part VII On the Problems of Cities