Assisting the Invisible Hand: Contested Relations Between Market, State and Civil Society

ISBN-13: 9781402014444 / Angielski / Twarda / 2003 / 229 str.

Wim Dubbink

Opis

Modern liberal democracies are troubled by public problems in which the free market is no innocent bystander. It is therefore generally acknowledged that the market must be controlled. Assisting the Invisible Hand is an investigation into contemporary thinking on controlling the market, especially with regard to the problem of dealing with environmental issues. The implicit modes of thinking in economics, political philosophy and administrative theory are uncovered and criticized. The book contributes to contemporary insight by arguing that the issue of market control must be addressed in terms of the relations between state, market and civil society. Furthermore, since controlling the market is so closely related to the ideals of liberal democracy, this book stresses the normative dimensions of the market control issue. The position adopted by the book is that the market cannot be controlled by the state alone. This responsibility should be shared between state, market and civil society.

Spis treści

Preface; L.W. Nauta. Acknowledgements. 1: Introduction. 1.1. Public responsibility in the market. 1.2. Sustainability as an exemplary problem. 1.3. Liberal democracy as context. 1.4. Looking back and looking ahead. 2: Economic Theory: The Market As Problem And Solution. 2.1. Market forces and yet more market forces. 2.2. Market description I: the non-mainstream approach. 2.3. Market description II: neoclassical market concepts. 2.4. The neoclassical diagnosis and therapy. 2.5. Economic mental models from laissez faire to Pigou. 2.6. The mental model of present-day neoclassical environmental theory. 2.7. Looking back and looking ahead. 3: Administrative Theory: From Overload To Taking Responsibility. 3.1. The administrative programme. 3.2. The indirect responsibility model. 3.3. Rival tendencies. 3.4. The indirect responsibility model criticized. 3.5. An administrative therapy. 3.6. An evaluation of administrative theory. 3.7. Looking back and looking ahead. 4: Political Philosophy: Salvation By Civil Society? 4.1. Introduction. 4.2. Farewell to environmental philosophy. 4.3. A present-day interpretation of civil society. 4.4. Civil society and present-day society. 4.5. An evaluation of civil society theory. 4.6. Looking back and looking ahead. 5: State, Market And Civil Society In A New Configuration. 5.1. Introduction. 5.2. The link between state and civil society. 5.3. The link between state and market. 5.4. The link between civil society and the market. 5.5. Looking back. Appendix. Bibliography. Index.