Accepting the Invisible Hand / Perspectives from Social Economics (PDF)

Mark D. White is Chair of the Department of Philosophy at the College of Staten Island, City University of New York, USA, where he teaches courses in philosophy, economics, and law. He is the author of four books, including The Illusion of Well-Being (2014) and The Manipulation of Choice (2013), plus over forty journal articles and book chapters in the intersections between his three fields. He has also edited or co-edited a number of books, including Retributivism (2011), The Thief of Time (with Chrisoula Andreou, 2010), and Theoretical Foundations of Law and Economics (2009), and he is the editor of the Perspectives from Social Economics series at Palgrave Macmillan.

"Eight papers focus on positive arguments for markets and highlight the important contributions that markets can make to topics within social economics." - Journal of Economic Literature

"Recent global economic turbulence has brought to the forefront discussions not only of competing systems of political economy but of their relative moral status as well. But many of these discussions are either weak on economics or weak on philosophy. Mark D. White's collection of essays is refreshingly strong on both. Its distinguished contributors have written essays that are insightful, engaging, and learned. And they could not be more timely. Together they present a compelling case for reconsidering, and taking seriously, the role that markets and Adam Smith's "invisible hand" play not only in generating material prosperity but in developing a proper moral community. This book should become a mainstay in the classroom, and everyone genuinelyinterested in human flourishing should read it." James R. Otteson, Joint Professor of Philosophy and Economics, Yeshiva University

"Gary Becker once noted that it's hard to appreciate markets. Accepting the Invisible Hand makes it easier. Mark White and his contributors have done an admirable job documenting the social benefits of free markets." Peter T. Leeson, BB&T Professor for the Study of Capitalism, George Mason University

"Our cognitive biases tend to make us suspicious of markets. We often prefer the hidden hand explanation of the conspiracy buff to the invisible hand account of the economist. We think that if there is more for one person, there must be less for others and we are constantly told that only greedy people like markets. This wide-ranging and refreshing volume is a cure for these aliments and errors. Mark White and his excellent and diverse contributors justify, explain, and apply market processes and the bourgeois virtues to a wide range of phenomena, from philanthropy and the fight against