An Analytical Theory of Just Market Exchange
The problem of moral sensibility as a source for political preference is widely discussed. This paper presents a parametric model for comparing differences in a particularly salient moral conception: the importance of disparity or inequality in bargaining position as a source of motivations to regulate exchange. Economists have assumed that "voluntary" exchanges are the norm, but this view is widely disputed. Our conception of "voluntary" exchange allows for a problematized view of alternatives, and we are able to offer implications of this theory for the actions of moral agents in a commercial setting. Not least, this approach gives analytical purchase on the question of when "voluntary" exchanges might nonetheless legitimately be regulated by political authorities.
Professor Mungerreceived his Ph.D. in Economics at Washington University in St. Louis in 1984. Following his graduate training, he worked as a staff economist at the Federal Trade Commission. His first teaching job was in the Economics Department at Dartmouth College, followed by appointments in the Political Science Department at the University of Texas at Austin (1986-1990) and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1990-1997). At UNC he directed the MPA Program, which trains public service professionals, especially city and county management.He moved to Duke in 1997, and was Chair of the Political Science Department from 2000 through 2010. He has won three University-wide teaching awards (the Howard Johnson Award, an NAACP "Image" Award for teaching about race, and admission to the Bass Society of Teaching Fellows). He is currently director of the interdisciplinary PPE Program at Duke University.Munger's recent books include “Choosing in Groups” (coauthored with his son, Kevin Munger ) and “The Thing Itself,” both in 2015. His research interests include the study of the morality of exchange and the working of the new “Middleman Economy.” Much of his recent work has been in philosophy, examining the concept of truly voluntary exchange, a concept for which he coined the term "euvoluntary." His current project is a book entitled “Tomorrow 3.0,” excerpted here.
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L.J.
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- Marija Taflaga61 2 6125 2462