Part 1 of A Discussion of Thomas D. Simpson’s Capitalism versus Socialism Chapter 2 “Market-Based Systems” If we are going to compare the four economic systems, we need to first define and understand each one of them. This is the chapter that focuses on market-based systems. While the title of the book…
Tag: Self-interest
Why We Bite the Invisible Hand
If You Bite the Invisible Hand, It Will Bite Back
A Discussion of Peter Foster’s Why We Bite the Invisible Hand Chapter 18 “Conclusion: Still Spinning After All These Years” I have really enjoyed this book because Foster is asking the questions I have had. Why do we bite the Invisible Hand? Why are people not more aware or concerned that…
Why We Bite the Invisible Hand
No Need for Philanthrocapitalism, Serving Others’ Needs Is Already Built into Capitalism
A Discussion of Peter Foster’s Why We Bite the Invisible Hand Chapter 17 “Bill Gates and the Pitfalls of Philanthrocapitalism” In this chapter, Foster turns his attention to philanthrocapitalism. It is some combination of charity somehow wrapped up in capitalist behavior. The most well-known current example is likely the Bill &…
Why We Bite the Invisible Hand
Free Market Economics Requires Trusting What You Cannot See
Part 2 of a Discussion of Peter Foster’s Why We Bite the Invisible Hand Chapter 9 “The Invisible Metaphor” In the last blog, we examined the meaning of the Invisible Hand metaphor. Now we want to look at several who challenged its ability. Adam Darwin Foster discusses a lecture by…
Why We Bite the Invisible Hand
Bernard Mandeville’s Dark Take on Commerce and the Persistence of Flawed Ideas
Part 2 of a Discussion of Peter Foster’s Why We Bite the Invisible Hand Chapter 6 “Tuesdays with Mandeville” As introduced in the last blog, Bernard Mandeville pioneered writing about the hypocrisy he thought was endemic to commerce that was a conversation happily continued by many to follow. Foster dives…
Why We Bite the Invisible Hand
Penning Hypocrisy: Writers Making Money Criticizing Capitalism
Part 1 of a Discussion of Peter Foster’s Why We Bite the Invisible Hand Chapter 6 “Tuesdays with Mandeville” Foster is tracing anti-capitalist thought across many writers of the West, and in this chapter he hits one I had not heard of: Bernard Mandeville who was born in 1670 in…
Why We Bite the Invisible Hand
Rand’s Front Row Seat to the Russian Revolution Created her Commitment to Individualism
Part 2 of a Discussion of Peter Foster’s Why We Bite the Invisible Hand Chapter 5 “The Passion of Ayn Rand” I am not sure how I ended up reading, We the Living, but I am really glad I did. It was the first novel Ayn Rand wrote but it was not…
Why We Bite the Invisible Hand
Unveiling the Exasperating Contradictions in Ayn Rand’s Philosophy
Part 1 of a Discussion of Peter Foster’s Why We Bite the Invisible Hand Chapter 5 “The Passion of Ayn Rand” I was very young when I first read Ayn Rand. First, I read The Fountainhead and then Atlas Shrugged. I did not know much about anything, but I was intrigued by the idea…
Why We Bite the Invisible Hand
When Privilege met Narcissism, Marxism was Born
Part 2 of a Discussion of Peter Foster’s Why We Bite the Invisible Hand Chapter 4 “Dark Satanic Minds” Last blog, we learned about one of the Utopians, Robert Owen, that rose up to challenge capitalism because of all the social upheaval wrought by industrialization. A more famous challenge, and one that persists…
Why We Bite the Invisible Hand
Doing Capitalism inside of Communism
Part 2 of a Discussion of Peter Foster’s Why We Bite the Invisible Hand Chapter 3 “Fears of a Clown: The Golden Arch-Enemy” In the previous blog, Foster showed us how many difficulties McDonald’s faced trying to run a restaurant in Moscow upon making a deal in 1988 when it was still…