Christian Ethics
1. What is the difference between self-interest and selfishness? Why is this distinction important when considering the competitive market economy as appropriate for a society?
a. Self-interest is when someone is trying to protect their interest, but they also take into account how it may affect others. Whereas selfishness is where one makes decisions based on one’s self with no regards to others. It’s important to decipher these two meanings when considering the competitive market and what may be appropriate for a society because if one is acting out based on self-interest, yes, they may be looking out for themselves, but they are also looking out for their customers. These are the type of people you can trust and want to invest your time and money into. People acting out of selfishness, figure out a way to get what they want and bail once they can’t make a profit anymore, leaving their customer in the dust. Also meaning, they’re going to be unreliable if and when times get tough and have no morals or obligations to the people who invest into them.
2. Does your textbook present only positive economics and avoid any normative economics? If not, give some examples of normative issues covered in your textbook.
a. After reading Stapleford’s Bulls, Bears and Golden Calves, it is safe to say that any textbook for that matter doesn’t posess “only” positive economics and does in deed hold normative economics. As economist Roger Miller commented: “…the very choice of which topics to include in an introductory textbook involves normative economics. There is not a value-free, or objective, way to decide which topics to use in a textbook” (Stapleford, pg 43.) I decided to examine this a little further and came to find that in our Economics: Private and Public Choice by Gwartney and authors, it states in the Preface “This text addresses all of them and provides both economic analysis and empirical evidence that will enhance understanding of these critical issues…This
a. Self-interest is when someone is trying to protect their interest, but they also take into account how it may affect others. Whereas selfishness is where one makes decisions based on one’s self with no regards to others. It’s important to decipher these two meanings when considering the competitive market and what may be appropriate for a society because if one is acting out based on self-interest, yes, they may be looking out for themselves, but they are also looking out for their customers. These are the type of people you can trust and want to invest your time and money into. People acting out of selfishness, figure out a way to get what they want and bail once they can’t make a profit anymore, leaving their customer in the dust. Also meaning, they’re going to be unreliable if and when times get tough and have no morals or obligations to the people who invest into them.
2. Does your textbook present only positive economics and avoid any normative economics? If not, give some examples of normative issues covered in your textbook.
a. After reading Stapleford’s Bulls, Bears and Golden Calves, it is safe to say that any textbook for that matter doesn’t posess “only” positive economics and does in deed hold normative economics. As economist Roger Miller commented: “…the very choice of which topics to include in an introductory textbook involves normative economics. There is not a value-free, or objective, way to decide which topics to use in a textbook” (Stapleford, pg 43.) I decided to examine this a little further and came to find that in our Economics: Private and Public Choice by Gwartney and authors, it states in the Preface “This text addresses all of them and provides both economic analysis and empirical evidence that will enhance understanding of these critical issues…This
References: Gwartney, Stroup, Sobel, Macpherson. (2013). Economics: Private and Public Choice 14e. Mason, OH: South-Western. Stapleford, J. (2009). Bulls, Bears and Golden Calves. Madison, WI: IntraVarsity Press.