Consumer Sovereignty and Human Interests - Hardcover

Penz, G. Peter

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0521265711 ISBN 13: 9780521265713

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1986

Synopsis

This book, published in 1986, addresses questions concerned with a central normative principle in contemporary assessments of economic policies and systems. What does 'consumer sovereignty' mean? Is consumer sovereignty an appropriate principle for the optimization and evaluation of the design and performance of economic policies, institutions and systems? If not, what is a more appropriate principle? The author argues that the conception of consumer sovereignty has to be broadened so that it is not limited to the market mechanism but includes environmental, work and social preferences. However, even this version runs into serious difficulties as the principle of consumer sovereignty still relies on too subjectivist a conception of the interests of individuals to be suitable for the evaluation of economic institutions. An alternative basis for such evaluation is 'human interests' that are not contingent on particular economic systems, After considering various possibilities, a basic-needs approach is proposed and its use in economic evaluation illustrated.

About this title

Book Description

This book, published in 1986, addresses questions concerned with a central normative principle in contemporary assessments of economic policies and systems. What does 'consumer sovereignty' mean? Is consumer sovereignty an appropriate principle for the optimisation and evaluation of the design and performance of economic policies, institutions and systems?

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1986
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521265711
• ISBN 13: 9780521265713
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256