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Economic essays (part one): toward a realistic concept of choice

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  • Frederic B. Jennings Jr.

    (Center for Ecological Economic and Ethical Education (CEEEE), Ipswich, Massachusetts (MA))

Abstract

These essays were originally drafted 30 years ago between 1988 and 1990, and then they were filed away and rediscovered just this year. They represented an attempt to offer a simple and unadorned version of fundamental issues in economics pertaining to our urgent need for a realistic concept of choice on which to found our constructions. The first essay introduces the notion of ‘opportunity cost’ and our use of caeteris paribus in the process of partial analysis. The second essay offers two metaphors for economic behavior: the ‘neighborhood store’ where virtually all neoclassical choice occurs; and the ‘chessboard’ that opens three issues simply ignored in orthodox settings. The third essay addresses the problem of interdependence, since choice in this setting confronts our range of awareness as bounded where outcomes spread forever with externalities everywhere, ruling out additivity.

Suggested Citation

  • Frederic B. Jennings Jr., 2019. "Economic essays (part one): toward a realistic concept of choice," The Journal of Philosophical Economics, Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies, The Journal of Philosophical Economics, vol. 13(1), pages 65-105, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bus:jphile:v:13:y:2019:i:1:n:4
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    9. Frederic B. Jennings Jr., 2012. "A theory of planning horizons (2): the foundation for an ethical economics," The Journal of Philosophical Economics, Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies, The Journal of Philosophical Economics, vol. 6(1), November.
    10. Frederic B. Jennings, 2015. "The Cultural and Health Implications of Economic Complementarity," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(2), pages 591-599, April.
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    21. Frederic B. Jennings Jr., 2009. "Six choice metaphors and their social implications," The Journal of Philosophical Economics, Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies, The Journal of Philosophical Economics, vol. 2(2), pages 34-77, May.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    choice; cost; neoclassical; competition; ethics; planning horizons;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B50 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - General

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