Item Detail
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33064
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0
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1
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English
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Capitalism and Distributive Justice: Musings of a Mormon Economist
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Mormonism and Money
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Mormon Studies Review
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January 2023
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10
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42-53
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"I have explored why, despite the scriptural pronouncements on distributive justice and a heritage of economic cooperation, many contemporary American Mormons have fallen under the rhetorical spell of free-market capitalism. My purpose has been to present a case that none of the plausible reasons for (the spell of) free-market capitalism withstand close scrutiny, on either libertarian or efficiency grounds. It is true that the public sector is often inefficient when there are viable private alternatives, and that, given the scale of information required to run a complex modern economy, there is no feasible alternative to the decentralized mechanism of markets. yet these considerations alone cannot be an argument against having a good government. D&C 136:8 intimates the need for equal burden sharing when taking care of the poor ('Let each company bear an equal proportion'). Free-market capitalism with private charity does not do the job. Collective action is required to create a more just society in which there is no poverty and everyone thus has freedom and an opportunity to pursue happiness." [Author]