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Economics and the Pursuit of Happiness

5 Parts, 15 Lessons, 51 Videos   3H 30M
Parts
  • Introduction
  • Political Economy and Public Choice
    • Lesson 1: Political Implications of Economic Systems
    • Lesson 2: The Public Choice Perspective
    • Lesson 3: Bureaucracy and the Commercial Order
  • Moral Dimensions of Property and Trade
    • Lesson 4: Justice in Exchange
    • Lesson 5: Social Aspects of Justice and Commerce
    • Lesson 6: Property, Production, and Distribution
  • The Contest of Ideas: Keynes and Hayek
    • Lesson 7: John Maynard Keynes: Radical Conservative
    • Lesson 8: Hayek: Conserving Freedom
    • Lesson 9: Keynesianism and the Limits of Economics
  • The Contest of Ideas: Free to Choose?
    • Lesson 10: Freedom of Choice
    • Lesson 11: Hayek: Libertarian Paternalism
    • Lesson 12: On the Nature of Liberty
  • The Moral Dimensions of the Market Economy
    • Lesson 13: Moral Norms
    • Lesson 14: Justifying Income, Wealth, and Capitalism
    • Lesson 15: Market Freedom, Efficiency, and Tradition

Lesson 3 Lesson 3: Bureaucracy and the Commercial Order

Presented by: Dr. Jay Richards
Busch School of Business and Economics at the Catholic University of America

Playlist

  1. Lesson 3, Video 1 - Dr. Jay Richards
  2. Lesson 3, Video 2 - Dr. Jay Richards
  3. Lesson 3, Video 3 - Dr. Jay Richards
  4. Lesson 3, Lesson 4 - Dr. Jay Richards

The Growth of both Commerce and Bureaucracy

This lesson considers two developments in the modern era. The earlier development is the growth of commerce as a way or organizing social relations. The second and more recent development is the growth of bureaucracy in government and in business. Understanding and reconciling the two is a central concern of modern political economy.

Key Concepts: (1) Feudalism, (2) Commercial Society, (3) Bourgeois Virtues, (4) Protestant Work Ethic, (5) Self-interest Rightly Understood, (6) Bureaucracy

Lesson 3 Quick Quiz

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EPH Lesson 3: Bureaucracy and the Commercial Order

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“[Weber’s] failure lay in his inattentiveness to the manner in which crucial concept and patterns of thought that lie at the heart of commercial society first appeared in a somewhat systematic form during the Middle Ages, especially through the particular attention accorded during this period to the importance and implications of human liberty, private property, free exchange, the rule of law, and civility.”

Samuel Gregg

“Many of the features of political, legal, and economic life which are often corralled under the term ‘globalization’ are effectively universalizations of the foundations of commercial society.”

Samuel Gregg

“To put it briefly, [in a market society] we move on an intermediate plane. It is not the summit of heroes and saints, of simon-pure altruism, selfless dedication, and contemplative calm, but neither is it the lowlands of open or concealed struggle in which force and cunning determine the victor and the vanquished.”

Wilhelm Röpke

“Whereas federal money was once spent in response to the claims of distinct and organized clients, public or private, in the contemporary period federal money has increasingly been spent in ways that have created such clients.”

James Q. Wilson

“What was created in the name of the common good is sustained in the name of the particular interest

James Q. Wilson

Learn More

h PDF

Samuel Gregg, “Toward Commercial Order,” and “Neither Angel nor Beast,” The Commercial Society, Chapters 1-2 pp. 1-24; 27-49.

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h Link

James Q. Wilson, “The Rise of the Bureaucratic State,” National Affairs, Fall 1975, pp. 77-103.

Read Now
h Video

“Bureaucracy Basics: Crash Course Government”

Watch Now
h Video

“Understanding Human Nature: How Best to Maintain Our Political and Social Institutions,” with James Q. Wilson

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