The second edition of this 2015 book is now fully indexed. The Covenantal Structure of Christian Economics. You can download it here:
It is different from every other book you have read on economics. It begins with this question: "Who owns this?"
This is the most divisive question in economic thought. Because it is divisive, economists ever since Adam Smith have preferred to begin their presentations with a less divisive issue: the division of labor. But the strategy does not work. The battlefield of economics -- and modern politics -- begins with this question: "Who owns this?"
This question cannot be answered in an ethically neutral fashion. But isn't economic theory supposed to be neutral? Not if you are looking for an answer this question: "Who owns this?" If this is your question, economic theory cannot possibly be neutral. Neither can anything else.
Economists always begin with an answer to this question in the back of their minds. They have an operating presupposition that they don't tell the reader early -- or maybe not at all. But the answer to this question shapes their view of economics from start to finish.
There are three basic answers to this question in modern economic thought: (1) the state, (2) the individual, and (3) a mixture. Think of these as socialism, anarcho-capitalism, and the mixed economy. Think of these as Lenin, Rothbard, and Keynes.
My approach is different. I begin with 20 economic laws in 60 words.
Judicial (theocentric)1. God owns everything.
2. God delegates ownership.
3. God prohibits theft.
4. God evaluates performance.
5. God mandates growth.Judicial (representative)
1. Ownership establishes responsibility.
2. Responsibility is personal.
3. Theft is illegal.
4. Oaths are binding.
5. Owners transfer ownership.Economic
1. Owners allocate assets.
2. Prices identify costs.
3. People prefer more.
4. Scarcity imposes costs.
5. Growth reduces scarcity.Economic patterns of market exchange
1. Owners allocate assets.
2. Money conveys authority.
3. Production is specialized.
4. Accounting guides production.
5. Compound growth wins.
This is not how economics has been taught.
What textbook economics teaches is what Ludwig von Mises termed "catallactics." This refers to market exchange. This has to do with buying and selling. It has to do with competitive pricing through an objective bidding process.
Let me announce three judicial principles. These are not neutral.
You may not legally sell your wife.
You may not legally sell your church membership.
You may not legally sell your citizenship.
Therefore, these institutions -- family, church, and state -- are not aspects of catallactics. This is why my book is different. It deals with catallactics and these three institutions. It deals, in short, with profit-seeking institutions and non-profits.
This book is the culmination of 55 years of thought. It took me from 1973 to 2012 to complete 31 volumes of biblical exegesis to enable me to discover this structure. Click this link for the background.
This book is not a Human Action sort of book. It deals with the structure of economics, not the content. I plan to write such a book, beginning in 2016. It will be a lot longer than this one.
This book is also not a book on epistemology: "What can we know, and how can we know it?" But there is an appendix on this topic. Mises put his section on epistemology in the beginning of Human Action. I have not made that marketing mistake.
Pastors are not interested in economic theory. Economists are not interested in Christian theology. Christian economists are interested only in catallactics in relation to some general moral principles. This limits the market for my book.
If these things interest you, print out the book. Read it. See if you can spot any typographical errors.
I plan to print this book -- the first one I have printed since 1997. I want it clean before I send it to the printers.
Send the corrections to this address: garynorth@garynorth.com. Put this in the subject box: book typos.
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