Re: Re: Re: Re: RE: Query on slavery

[Jim Devine <jdevine@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 10:20 AM 10/20/00 -0500, you wrote:
> I didn't realize that neo-classicals assume that what exists is efficient.
> Do you have a reference?

I'd say that it's only the Chicago school that makes that assumption, but
they assume that the state is an exception to that rule. The clearest
example of this view is North & Thomas's take on feudalism (serfdom), which
they see as efficient.

Of course, there are at least four different kinds of "efficiency,"
including technical efficiency, private economic efficiency, social
economic efficiency, and Pareto Optimality. A capitalist competitive market
encourages private economic efficiency (private cost minimization) but not
social economic efficiency.

Jim Devine jdevine@xxxxxxx &  http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine