Deck 1 Flashcards
Who was Xenophon?
Created the word economy Foreshadowed the division of labor Worried about efficient management of resources, not about the extended market Held a subjective theory of value Wrote oeconomicus
Who was Aristotle?
Defended property rights
Theory of exchange: saw the reciprocity of exchange
Anti interest charges
Foreshadows water-diamond paradox: abundant objects have less value
Use of value vs use of exhange
What is division of labor?
Ancients alluded to concept (Xenophon and Plato)
What is scarcity?
Aristotle pointed out that the more scarce something is the more valuable it is to people
What is usury?
Practice of making loans with excessive or abusive interest rates.
profit from loans is wrong and an be traced back to the old testament.
Any interest charge was condemned by some ancients including Aristotle.
From the 4th century on to the middle ages there were many prohibitions against usury.
Aquinas argued against usury as over the just price.
During the middle ages legitimate interest and usury blurred and exploitation by those who made the rules became commonplace.
Who were the Greeks?
Efficient courses of action for individuals
Precursors ofDivision of labor
Precursors of Subjective theory of value
Precursors of scarcity
Who were the scholastics?
Moral implications and just price Concerned with the fairness of the prices Against usury Denied money as a resource Denied the time value of money
What is bottom up vs. top down?
Plato argues for using philosopher kings: uses allegory of he cave and ship of state metaphor as logic
What is the theory of value?
The ancients understood that the value comes from the pleasure produced by the good, not from he good itself (Xenophon).
Aristotle noted that scarcity helps determine value
Scholastics tried to accomplish a just price to understand the moral implications of exchange and his the value had to be objectively inferred from the amount of labor.
What is mercantilism?
Encouraging exports and discouraging imports Strong central govt Large working population Opposition to internal tolls/taxes Duty free imports for inputs Utility of poverty theory Develop balance of payment/trade ideas
