levine - wealth and freedom; an introduction to political economy (1995)

Wealth and freedom [...]... commitment, if any, to the system - capitalism - that brings about the expansion of wealth but because we need to know when we have enough and when our quest for wealth might end Needs and wants The multiplication of wants Our early ancestors differed from us not primarily in whether their wants were satisfied but in the kinds of wants they had We want more than they did, and we want differently Our wants develop... form I can understand By psychic resources, I mean the capacity to know what I want and to act on that knowledge Even if I have the legal standing, I might fall 3 They do not always do so Competition between a large number of sellers often leads to market structures - oligopoly and monopoly - that limit consumers' options 26 Wealth and freedom short in capacity and ability, in which case I cannot choose,... Sahlins's description of the household economy bears little resemblance to the world we live in We can hardly imagine satisfying our wants if all we can call on is the work and know-how of ourselves, our spouse, and perhaps a child or two Embedding the economy in the household, then, means radically limiting what we can want and what we can get to satisfy our wants It also means isolating ourselves from the... to walk, dealing with that change in our body demands some change in ourselves We must see ourselves in a wheelchair rather than walking, and this can change our perspective on the world and our place in it As we age, changes in our bodies demand that we change our images of ourselves and the way we live We may continue to have an image of ourselves as young long after we have turned the corner into... exchange? And in order to gain this reward, do we need a statesman to oversee the market and make sure it provides what we need to satisfy our wants? What is the place of economy in the larger fabric of our lives together? 18 Wealth and freedom The use of markets What are markets for? Adam Smith's answer centered on the accumulation of wealth We have markets to enable us individually and as a society to. .. individually and collectively, to assure the conditions needed to sustain our independence of action and initiative Liberty has to do with the opportunities that society affords us to determine who we are and how we will lead our lives Wealth allows us to develop and exercise our autonomy and individuality With enough wealth to support our freedoms, we can take on the burden of responsibility for our lives Political. .. adequate wealth can afford Wealth, of course, may not be enough Birth and connections also count heavily But the less wealth that comes one's way, the more tenuous one's attachment to the aristocracy will be 22 Wealth and freedom Aristocrats need more because having more maintains membership in the aristocracy If we are to organize our society into aristocrats and peasants, we must distribute wealth. .. material means, I have in mind the money required to pay the price The link between choice and freedom thus implies a link between freedom and wealth If I have too little wealth, then I have few if any choices The market only offers choices to those with the means to pay By legal standing, I mean the recognized status of a property owner and independent agent By knowledge, I mean appropriate and accurate... equality and inequality central After exploring the core ideas of political economy concerning the workings of a market economy in Parts I and II, I turn to an investigation of the various arguments regarding equality and inequality Introduction 7 I begin, in Part I, with an exploration of the idea of a self-standing economy and with the problem of the use of wealth I attempt in this discussion to raise... develop in many directions and change continually Wants multiply with the multiplication of the means to satisfy them By contrast, the consumption habits, and thus the wants, of early humans did not change much Why this multiplication of wants and of means in modern society (Hegel 1951, pp 12 2-2 9)? I think three interconnected objectives go a long way in accounting for modern man's desire for wealth They . Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Levine, David P., 194 8- Wealth and freedom : an introduction to political economy / David P. Levine. p. cm. ISBN 0-5 2 1-4 431 4-8 . - ISBN 0-5 2 1-4 479 1-7 (pbk.) HB171.5.L657. themes and ideas of political economy. Today, interest in issues of political economy runs high. The challenge in teaching is to trans- late an interest in issues into an interest in understanding. Wealth and freedom