A lecture on basic economics by Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse

Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse

Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse, former professor of economics at Yale University and George Mason University, gave a lecture on basic economics.

The MP3 file is here.

Topics:

• The study of economics is anti-postmodern – there is objective truth independent of what people think
• The study of economics believes in fixed principles of human nature
• Economics studies the allocation of scarce resources that have alternative uses
• Economics studies how people exchange resources
• How both people who engage in a voluntary trade always believe that they will be better off
• How both people who engage in a voluntary trade both benefit from the exchange
• How incentives motivate people to act
• Understanding supply and demand
• Understanding how “free” government services are rationed
• Understanding opportunity costs
• How prices signal producers to produce more or less, and consumers to buy or not buy
• Market-driven prices versus price controls
• The role of substitution
• The necessity of allowing failure in a free market

The requirements of economic growth:

• private property
• contracts
• the profit motive
• competition
• free trade
• entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation
• the rule of law

If you like this podcast, you can take a look at Thomas Sowell’s textbook on “Basic Economics“. Highly recommended!

Filed under: Podcasts, Acton Institute, Adam Smith, Alternative Uses, Basic Economics, Economics, Economics Tutorial, Free Trade, Hayek, Jennifer Roback Morse, Learn Economics, Mises, Scarce Resources, Scarcity, The Wealth of Nations, Trade, Voluntary, Von Mises, Wealth of Nations

New study analyzes the legalization of euthanasia in Belgium

Wesley J. Smith analyzes a new peer-reviewed paper in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

First an introduction to euthanasia:

Belgium has followed the Netherlands in jumping off a vertical moral cliff by embracing legalized euthanasia.  The awful consequences that I predicted are now coming to pass; a steady increase in the number of cases, inadequate reporting, and a large percentage of non voluntary euthanasia deaths.  Thus, I am anything but surprised by the study I analyze below, which echoes an earlier one reported here at SHS, that nearly as many Belgian euthanasia killings are non voluntary as of those that are voluntary (the concept of “voluntary” in this context being highly problematic, but let’s not deal with that here).

Why might that be? Euthanasia consciousness rests on two intellectual pillars–that killing is an acceptable answer to human suffering, and radical individualism in which we all own our bodies and have the absolute right to do what we wish with it, including make it dead.   But interestingly, the latter idea–often reduced to that most effective of all soundbites, “choice”–turns out to be far less robust than the acceptance of active killing as a proper method of ending suffering.  In other words, once a society accepts killing as the answer to suffering, the request element becomes increasingly less important as doctors assume they are doing what is best for the patient by extinguishing their lives.

But does the new research paper justify his concerns? The paper finds that nurses administered life-ending drugs without the patient’s consent in 120 cases, as compared with 128 cases where the patient requested the drugs.

The paper says:

When the patient can no longer communicate, nurses are, by the nature of their work, more directly confronted with the patient’s suffering and may therefore wish to take a more active role in life-ending acts. We also have to consider that the administration of life-ending drugs without the patient’s explicit request may have included situations of terminal sedation or an increase in pain alleviation, in which the delegation by physicians to nurses to administer the drugs is considered common practice. Finally, although about half of the nurses’ reports indicated that there was no explicit request from the patient, it should be stated that the physicians and nurses probably acted according to the patient’s wishes.

The paper is here. (PDF)

Filed under: News, Autonomy, Belgium, Choice, Death, Doctor, Drugs, Euthanasia, Hospital, Involuntary, Netherlands, Nurse, Pain, Patient, Research, Study, Suffering, Voluntary

MUST-LISTEN: Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse explains basic economics!

Wow, I thought that her earlier podcast on marriage and family was good.

This new podcast is a MUST for social-conservatives who nevertheless like big government, taxing the rich, public schools, and single-payer health care. I listened to this twice already, and it’s going to become one of my favorites for sure!

The MP3 file is here.

Topics:

• The study of economics is anti-postmodern – there is objective truth independent of what people think
• The study of economics believes in fixed principles of human nature
• Economics studies the allocation of scarce resources that have alternative uses
• Economics studies how people exchange resources
• How both people who engage in a voluntary trade always believe that they will be better off
• How both people who engage in a voluntary trade both benefit from the exchange
• How incentives motivate people to act
• Understanding supply and demand
• Understanding how “free” government services are rationed
• Understanding opportunity costs
• How prices signal producers to produce more or less, and consumers to buy or not buy
• Market-driven prices versus price controls
• The role of substitution
• The necessity of allowing failure in a free market

The requirements of economic growth:

• private property
• contracts
• the profit motive
• competition
• free trade
• entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation
• the rule of law

DOWNLOAD THE PODCAST. LISTEN TO THE PODCAST. REPEAT.

The Ruth Institute accepts donations. I sent her TWO already this year. She does on-campus events, just like William Lane Craig. If you want to have an impact on the university, she should be considered for funding.

You can find more economics lectures at the Acton Institute.

Filed under: Podcasts, Acton Institute, Adam Smith, Alternative Uses, Basic Economics, Economics, Economics Tutorial, Free Trade, Hayek, Jennifer Roback Morse, Learn Economics, Mises, Scarce Resources, Scarcity, The Wealth of Nations, Trade, Voluntary, Von Mises, Wealth of Nations