IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ehl/lserod/125698.html

Values, prices and natural liberty: on the dual role of prices in the history of economic analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Witztum, Amos

Abstract

Natural liberty is a powerful idea of social order. However, a tension has always existed between its reality and social values. Here, I try to identify where the fault line may lie between an order that fulfils social expectation and one that does not. I claim that throughout history, this fault line had been manifested in the distinction drawn between the concepts of price and value. The first emerges in markets and the second reflects social expectations. Juxtaposing the two reveals either harmony or dissonance between natural liberty and social expectations. Convergence then is a necessary condition for social validity.

Suggested Citation

  • Witztum, Amos, 2024. "Values, prices and natural liberty: on the dual role of prices in the history of economic analysis," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 125698, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:125698
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://researchonline.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/125698/
    File Function: Open access version.
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jeremiah E. Dittmar, 2011. "Information Technology and Economic Change: The Impact of The Printing Press," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 126(3), pages 1133-1172.
    2. Jerry Evensky, 1993. "Adam Smith on the Human Foundation of a Successful Liberal Society," History of Political Economy, Duke University Press, vol. 25(3), pages 395-412, Fall.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Matthew Curtis & David de la Croix & Filippo Manfredini & Mara Vitale, 2025. "Academic Human Capital in European Countries and Regions, 1200-1793," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2025012, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    2. Johnson, Noel D. & Koyama, Mark, 2017. "Jewish communities and city growth in preindustrial Europe," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 339-354.
    3. Nathan, Max & Rosso, Anna, 2014. "Mapping information economy businesses with big data: findings from the UK," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 60615, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. Julius Koschnick, 2025. "Teacher-directed scientific change:The case of the English Scientific Revolution," Working Papers 0274, European Historical Economics Society (EHES).
    5. Jeremiah Dittmar, 2015. "New Media, Competition and Growth: European Cities After Gutenberg," CEP Discussion Papers dp1365, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    6. Fabian Wahl, 2014. "Origins of Political Change Ñ The Case of Late Medieval Guild Revolts," Working Papers 0069, European Historical Economics Society (EHES).
    7. Lin, Chen & Ma, Chicheng & Sun, Yuchen & Xu, Yuchen, 2021. "The telegraph and modern banking development, 1881–1936," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(2), pages 730-749.
    8. Sloczynski, Tymon, 2018. "A General Weighted Average Representation of the Ordinary and Two-Stage Least Squares Estimands," IZA Discussion Papers 11866, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. David de la Croix & Matthias Doepke & Joel Mokyr, 2018. "Clans, Guilds, and Markets: Apprenticeship Institutions and Growth in the Preindustrial Economy," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 133(1), pages 1-70.
    10. Raffaele Danna & Martina Iori & Andrea Mina, 2022. "A Numerical Revolution: The diffusion of practical mathematics and the growth of pre-modern European economies," LEM Papers Series 2022/18, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    11. repec:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/453m2eks408pdoss8agfiaocu6 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Jedwab, Remi & Vollrath, Dietrich, 2015. "Urbanization without growth in historical perspective," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 1-21.
    13. Tiihonen, Iiro & Lahti, Leo & Tolonen, Mikko, 2024. "Print culture and economic constraints: A quantitative analysis of book prices in eighteenth-century Britain," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    14. Julia Cagé & Valeria Rueda, 2016. "The Long-Term Effects of the Printing Press in Sub-Saharan Africa," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 8(3), pages 69-99, July.
    15. Mark Dincecco & Massimiliano Onorato, 2013. "Military conflict and the economic rise of urban Europe," Working Papers 14006, Economic History Society.
    16. Nathan, Max & Rosso, Anna, 2014. "Mapping information economy businesses with big data: findings from the UK," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 60615, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    17. Jordi Blanes i Vidal & Tom Kirchmaier, 2015. "The Effect of Police Response Time on Crime Detection," CEP Discussion Papers dp1376, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    18. Mara P. Squicciarini, 2019. "Devotion and Development: Religiosity, Education, and Economic Progress in 19th-Century France," CESifo Working Paper Series 7768, CESifo.
    19. Boerner, Lars & Rubin, Jared & Severgnini, Battista, 2021. "A time to print, a time to reform," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    20. Galasso, Alberto & Comino, Stefano & Graziano, Clara, 2017. "The Diffusion of New Institutions: Evidence from Renaissance Venice's Patent System," CEPR Discussion Papers 12102, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    21. Francesco Cinnirella & Jochen Streb, 2017. "Religious Tolerance as Engine of Innovation," CESifo Working Paper Series 6797, CESifo.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • A10 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - General
    • A12 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Other Disciplines
    • A13 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Social Values
    • B10 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought through 1925 - - - General
    • B11 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought through 1925 - - - Preclassical (Ancient, Medieval, Mercantilist, Physiocratic)
    • B12 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought through 1925 - - - Classical (includes Adam Smith)
    • B13 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought through 1925 - - - Neoclassical through 1925 (Austrian, Marshallian, Walrasian, Wicksellian)
    • B14 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought through 1925 - - - Socialist; Marxist
    • B20 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925 - - - General
    • B41 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Economic Methodology - - - Economic Methodology

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:125698. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: LSERO Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/lsepsuk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.