Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Blog Slowdown as Next Book Approaches Completion.
I am in the final stages of writing my second book and so I have less opportunity to write my blog contributions. Please browse some of the earlier ones during this lull. I will write a few, perhaps once every 3 or 4 days for the next week or two.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
The Productivity of the Capital Structure and of Property Rights.
Productivity is easily recognizable as an economic concept and it receives much attention. In the Divine Economy Model © productivity has been placed in a quadrant the boundary of which is defined by capital structure and property rights.
In this context productivity comes to life. The means to improve productivity is capital and the structure of capital over time and across the spectrum of economic production. Equally as influential upon productivity is the existence of property rights. If my efforts are rewarded I will be more productive, it's as simple as that.
Additionally, the Divine Economy Model © places productivity in the domain of transformation and law. Of course productivity leads to the transformation of something from one degree to the next but it also stirs a sense of accomplishment and stimulates further creative acts. Finally, as the law protecting human rights (and its most important manifestation - property rights) becomes more ideal there will be a corresponding increase in productivity.
Follow me on Twitter @DivineEconomy
For more information go to my newly renovated website.
If you know of anyone interested in ethics and economics,
or liberty and justice, please send them this link:
http://divineec.ipower.com/2/
In this context productivity comes to life. The means to improve productivity is capital and the structure of capital over time and across the spectrum of economic production. Equally as influential upon productivity is the existence of property rights. If my efforts are rewarded I will be more productive, it's as simple as that.
Additionally, the Divine Economy Model © places productivity in the domain of transformation and law. Of course productivity leads to the transformation of something from one degree to the next but it also stirs a sense of accomplishment and stimulates further creative acts. Finally, as the law protecting human rights (and its most important manifestation - property rights) becomes more ideal there will be a corresponding increase in productivity.
Follow me on Twitter @DivineEconomy
For more information go to my newly renovated website.
If you know of anyone interested in ethics and economics,
or liberty and justice, please send them this link:
http://divineec.ipower.com/2/
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Property is the Standard Indicating the Degree of Interventionism.
The most primal ingredient of the economy, according to the Divine Economy Model ©, is the recognition that property rights are human rights! The economy exists only because human beings exist. That sounds simplistic but it far more profound than that.
The human spirit expresses itself, and that expression then comes into existence. This replicates the creative power of God (known as "Be and it is") since 'we' are created in His Image. This is why the economy originates with the human. To carry the profound implications further, this is also why the economy is divine, because human beings are divine.
But the point of this posting is property. The status of property rights is tremendously significant. Property is the standard of measurement used to determine the degree of interventionism. It is the indicator showing how far we have gone towards socialism, and towards totalitarianism.
In the divine economy all intervention is a corruption. Interventionism is an act that robs the property rights from someone somewhere. It is an injustice and it is a violation of human rights.
Follow me on Twitter @DivineEconomy
For more information go to my newly renovated website.
If you know of anyone interested in ethics and economics,
or liberty and justice, please send them this link:
http://divineec.ipower.com/2/
The human spirit expresses itself, and that expression then comes into existence. This replicates the creative power of God (known as "Be and it is") since 'we' are created in His Image. This is why the economy originates with the human. To carry the profound implications further, this is also why the economy is divine, because human beings are divine.
But the point of this posting is property. The status of property rights is tremendously significant. Property is the standard of measurement used to determine the degree of interventionism. It is the indicator showing how far we have gone towards socialism, and towards totalitarianism.
In the divine economy all intervention is a corruption. Interventionism is an act that robs the property rights from someone somewhere. It is an injustice and it is a violation of human rights.
Follow me on Twitter @DivineEconomy
For more information go to my newly renovated website.
If you know of anyone interested in ethics and economics,
or liberty and justice, please send them this link:
http://divineec.ipower.com/2/
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Immeasurable Importance of Immeasurable Time Preference!
Mortality, our connection to our earthly existence, is what makes time a scarce resource. Our constant perception that time is omnipresent makes time a dominant element in the economy. Yet despite this very obvious importance of time the concept known as time preference appears as a major economic determinant only in classical liberalism.
In a sense time preference is self explanatory. Because of time we humans prefer things now rather than later.
The subtle significance of time preference is that the future is bridged to the present. Future goods can be given present value, ultimately as a result of time preference. The willingness of people to finance any efforts that are not immediately, palpably fruitful depends on the degree of confidence there is in the future (as expressed in time preference).
Now comes the reason time preference is disregarded by empirical economists - it is not directly measurable! It is reflected in the pure interest rate which is also not directly measurable! Those 'economists' who are after convenience rather than seeking to understand time preference leave the scientific arena without discovering its significance.
The whole world of capital and capital structure came out into the open to those patient, probing economists of the classical liberalism tradition because they sought to understand time preference.
Follow me on Twitter @DivineEconomy
For more information go to my newly renovated website.
If you know of anyone interested in ethics and economics,
or liberty and justice, please send them this link:
http://divineec.ipower.com/2/
In a sense time preference is self explanatory. Because of time we humans prefer things now rather than later.
The subtle significance of time preference is that the future is bridged to the present. Future goods can be given present value, ultimately as a result of time preference. The willingness of people to finance any efforts that are not immediately, palpably fruitful depends on the degree of confidence there is in the future (as expressed in time preference).
Now comes the reason time preference is disregarded by empirical economists - it is not directly measurable! It is reflected in the pure interest rate which is also not directly measurable! Those 'economists' who are after convenience rather than seeking to understand time preference leave the scientific arena without discovering its significance.
The whole world of capital and capital structure came out into the open to those patient, probing economists of the classical liberalism tradition because they sought to understand time preference.
Follow me on Twitter @DivineEconomy
For more information go to my newly renovated website.
If you know of anyone interested in ethics and economics,
or liberty and justice, please send them this link:
http://divineec.ipower.com/2/
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Imperfect Knowledge is an Economic Truth Extraordinaire!
The exciting aspect of imperfect knowledge is that it is a relative condition. It is always a relative condition, the economy is always in disequilibrium, and human beings are always imperfect but striving for higher degrees of perfection.
This is what makes knowledge so powerful. It is what resolves the critical aspects of our imperfect knowledge. Knowledge is the ingredient of the economic matrix that plays the role of overcoming our condition of imperfect knowledge.
It is by way of knowledge that order, transformation, unity, and justice become operational, according to the divine economy model. Knowledge is what serves as a foundation for law. And most vitally it is knowledge which is acted upon! The action then generates more knowledge (and exposure to more imperfect knowledge) which drives the perpetual cycle onward towards perfection!
As you can see 'imperfect knowledge' is not something that should be removed from economic models to make them manageable. Imperfect knowledge is a wonderful and glorious part of the human reality. The divine economy model rests firmly on the notion that humans are imperfect, striving for perfection.
Follow me on Twitter @DivineEconomy
For more information go to my newly renovated website.
If you know of anyone interested in ethics and economics,
or liberty and justice, please send them this link:
http://divineec.ipower.com/2/
This is what makes knowledge so powerful. It is what resolves the critical aspects of our imperfect knowledge. Knowledge is the ingredient of the economic matrix that plays the role of overcoming our condition of imperfect knowledge.
It is by way of knowledge that order, transformation, unity, and justice become operational, according to the divine economy model. Knowledge is what serves as a foundation for law. And most vitally it is knowledge which is acted upon! The action then generates more knowledge (and exposure to more imperfect knowledge) which drives the perpetual cycle onward towards perfection!
As you can see 'imperfect knowledge' is not something that should be removed from economic models to make them manageable. Imperfect knowledge is a wonderful and glorious part of the human reality. The divine economy model rests firmly on the notion that humans are imperfect, striving for perfection.
Follow me on Twitter @DivineEconomy
For more information go to my newly renovated website.
If you know of anyone interested in ethics and economics,
or liberty and justice, please send them this link:
http://divineec.ipower.com/2/
Monday, March 13, 2006
The Consumer is King in a True Democracy!
There is a flood of rhetoric about democracy but that ideal can never be achieved in the political arena. The true democracy is the free market, where each person's purchase is their vote. Those productive members of the community who provide the people with what they want get the most votes. If someone who has served in the past takes the people for granted, serves their own interests without regard to the community, they will stop receiving business (votes).
The beauty of this vision of democracy is that it is a blend of a monarchy and a democracy, in a way. There is a king, someone who is sovereign. It is the consumer who is sovereign. Which means that the same voice of the people (democracy) is the voice of the king!
In a free market all prices are determined from the subjective values of the consumers. The producers use this price information, seeking the votes (purchases) by making the products that people want. They do what the king(s) requests!
It is clear from the divine economy model that intervention into the economy runs counter to democracy and fosters corruption and advances socialism. Socialism and its precursor - interventionism - makes the consumer a peon, dethroning the king.
Follow me on Twitter @DivineEconomy
For more information go to my newly renovated website.
If you know of anyone interested in ethics and economics,
or liberty and justice, please send them this link:
http://divineec.ipower.com/2/
The beauty of this vision of democracy is that it is a blend of a monarchy and a democracy, in a way. There is a king, someone who is sovereign. It is the consumer who is sovereign. Which means that the same voice of the people (democracy) is the voice of the king!
In a free market all prices are determined from the subjective values of the consumers. The producers use this price information, seeking the votes (purchases) by making the products that people want. They do what the king(s) requests!
It is clear from the divine economy model that intervention into the economy runs counter to democracy and fosters corruption and advances socialism. Socialism and its precursor - interventionism - makes the consumer a peon, dethroning the king.
Follow me on Twitter @DivineEconomy
For more information go to my newly renovated website.
If you know of anyone interested in ethics and economics,
or liberty and justice, please send them this link:
http://divineec.ipower.com/2/
Friday, March 10, 2006
Leisure is a Very Productive Pursuit!
Once basic subsistence is exceeded, human beings aspire to higher goals. One of these higher goals is the enjoyment of life called leisure. It is incorrect to think of leisure as unproductive because when a person does something that they enjoy they are likely to be very productive in that pursuit.
Leisure, it turns out, plays a significant role in transformation and so the effect it has on human capital cannot be discarded. All of a sudden leisure looks like a very productive force in the economy!
When we leave behind normative economics and recognize that the human operating system is praxeological and universal then we can begin to appreciate how the divine economy works as an expression of the human spirit. Leisure is a very important expression of the human spirit. Honoring the different forms of expression by finding how they fit into the divine economy model is a useful mental exercise that leads to a greater understanding of economics.
Follow me on Twitter @DivineEconomy
For more information go to my newly renovated website.
If you know of anyone interested in ethics and economics,
or liberty and justice, please send them this link:
http://divineec.ipower.com/2/
Leisure, it turns out, plays a significant role in transformation and so the effect it has on human capital cannot be discarded. All of a sudden leisure looks like a very productive force in the economy!
When we leave behind normative economics and recognize that the human operating system is praxeological and universal then we can begin to appreciate how the divine economy works as an expression of the human spirit. Leisure is a very important expression of the human spirit. Honoring the different forms of expression by finding how they fit into the divine economy model is a useful mental exercise that leads to a greater understanding of economics.
Follow me on Twitter @DivineEconomy
For more information go to my newly renovated website.
If you know of anyone interested in ethics and economics,
or liberty and justice, please send them this link:
http://divineec.ipower.com/2/
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
The Contractual Nature of the Medium of Exchange.
Money can actually more aptly be described as a medium of exchange. By this description it can be seen that money facilitates the exchanges that take place in human life. It is by this indirect method that people can get what they want, and they can sell what they have to offer, without worrying about matching commodities. It is an advancement over barter.
Historically the commodities that were recognized to have value universally and that were easy to transfer to others, these were the commodities that served as mediums of exchange. The tendency towards having a universal medium of exchange narrowed the field to one or a very few commodities.
A medium of exchange represents a contract. The medium of exchange has value inasmuch as the contract is honored. Ever since its beginnings the best of the mediums of exchange were measurable and verifiable.
The justice on which the divine economy model is based assumes trustworthiness. Laws need to be strengthened to protect the contractual nature of the medium of exchange.
Follow me on Twitter @DivineEconomy
For more information go to my newly renovated website.
If you know of anyone interested in ethics and economics,
or liberty and justice, please send them this link:
http://divineec.ipower.com/2/
Historically the commodities that were recognized to have value universally and that were easy to transfer to others, these were the commodities that served as mediums of exchange. The tendency towards having a universal medium of exchange narrowed the field to one or a very few commodities.
A medium of exchange represents a contract. The medium of exchange has value inasmuch as the contract is honored. Ever since its beginnings the best of the mediums of exchange were measurable and verifiable.
The justice on which the divine economy model is based assumes trustworthiness. Laws need to be strengthened to protect the contractual nature of the medium of exchange.
Follow me on Twitter @DivineEconomy
For more information go to my newly renovated website.
If you know of anyone interested in ethics and economics,
or liberty and justice, please send them this link:
http://divineec.ipower.com/2/
Sunday, March 05, 2006
The Divine Economy Model is Compatible with Human Action.
The mid-1800's was a revolutionary time in so many ways and all branches of science leapt forward with new and wonderful discoveries that occurred during and since that period. In economics the breakthrough concept that surfaced at that time was the concept of marginal utility.
Decisions are made at the margin, in other words, humans consider the improved condition that will come from a good or service and compare that to the improvement from a unit of other goods or services.
This concept did not guarantee progress in economic understanding though. Two major errors lead most astray. Empiricists assumed cardinal relationships between units and they tried to avoid the subjective nature of human decision-making by assuming empirical valuation. Their models are void of the essence of the nature of the human being.
The divine economy model incorporates the concept of marginal utility, based on the theory of subjective valuation, which makes the model compatible with human action. This brings a bright and hopeful realism into economic science.
Follow me on Twitter @DivineEconomy
For more information go to my newly renovated website.
If you know of anyone interested in ethics and economics,
or liberty and justice, please send them this link:
http://divineec.ipower.com/2/
Decisions are made at the margin, in other words, humans consider the improved condition that will come from a good or service and compare that to the improvement from a unit of other goods or services.
This concept did not guarantee progress in economic understanding though. Two major errors lead most astray. Empiricists assumed cardinal relationships between units and they tried to avoid the subjective nature of human decision-making by assuming empirical valuation. Their models are void of the essence of the nature of the human being.
The divine economy model incorporates the concept of marginal utility, based on the theory of subjective valuation, which makes the model compatible with human action. This brings a bright and hopeful realism into economic science.
Follow me on Twitter @DivineEconomy
For more information go to my newly renovated website.
If you know of anyone interested in ethics and economics,
or liberty and justice, please send them this link:
http://divineec.ipower.com/2/
Saturday, March 04, 2006
The Divine Economy Model Uses the Subjectivist Methodology.
Since each person is unique there is only one person who can decide what is best. Each of us has that right and responsibility for our own self. When we act purposefully, exercising our right and responsibility, we do so based on our knowledge - our expertise - about one subject. That subject is ourself.
Subjectivism is based on an acknowledgement that this is how human beings behave. Whatever value a person places on something is derived from their own personal likes and dislikes ranked ordinally relative to other things.
Since humans make decisions subjectively the appropriate methodology for the social sciences is subjectivism. Using the subjectivist methodology leads to the discovery of universal laws that can then be used to understand the economy. The divine economy model is based on subjectivism and it carries forward the classical liberalism tradition.
Follow me on Twitter @DivineEconomy
For more information go to my newly renovated website.
If you know of anyone interested in ethics and economics,
or liberty and justice, please send them this link:
http://divineec.ipower.com/2/
Subjectivism is based on an acknowledgement that this is how human beings behave. Whatever value a person places on something is derived from their own personal likes and dislikes ranked ordinally relative to other things.
Since humans make decisions subjectively the appropriate methodology for the social sciences is subjectivism. Using the subjectivist methodology leads to the discovery of universal laws that can then be used to understand the economy. The divine economy model is based on subjectivism and it carries forward the classical liberalism tradition.
Follow me on Twitter @DivineEconomy
For more information go to my newly renovated website.
If you know of anyone interested in ethics and economics,
or liberty and justice, please send them this link:
http://divineec.ipower.com/2/
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Willingness to Work is an Act of Transformation.
What really seems to be taken for granted is the fact that we are created and created unique. Consequently the purposeful action that irresistably comes from us may - as a result - be seen as ordinary or even further denigrated to a loathsome state where purposefulness is seen as sheer drudgery!
Time for a reality check! Our reality is truly noble! We are created unique which leads to division of labor and all its bounteousness.
This is where the willingness to work finds its proper station. Each of us has something remarkable and unmatched to bring into this world. Doing so is a way to express thanks to God. In the divine economy model the willingness to work is an act of transformation and it is an expression of the nobility of the human spirit.
Follow me on Twitter @DivineEconomy
For more information go to my newly renovated website.
If you know of anyone interested in ethics and economics,
or liberty and justice, please send them this link:
http://divineec.ipower.com/2/
Time for a reality check! Our reality is truly noble! We are created unique which leads to division of labor and all its bounteousness.
This is where the willingness to work finds its proper station. Each of us has something remarkable and unmatched to bring into this world. Doing so is a way to express thanks to God. In the divine economy model the willingness to work is an act of transformation and it is an expression of the nobility of the human spirit.
Follow me on Twitter @DivineEconomy
For more information go to my newly renovated website.
If you know of anyone interested in ethics and economics,
or liberty and justice, please send them this link:
http://divineec.ipower.com/2/
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Division of Labor Brings Us All of These Things!
Noone out there can pretend to imagine that they could have everything that they use daily by making it themselves. Who can put together a computer, make clothing, produce foodstuffs, discover new medicines, and compose and perform inspiring music, not to mention the plethora of other tasks that we take advantage of?
Each human being is created unique and when that potential becomes expressed through purposeful action something comes into existence that is also unique. It may be a new way of doing an ordinary task which leads to greater productivity, which then frees up resources that are used to make new things. Or it may be an act that leads directly to a new and unique product or service.
We all are the beneficiaries of this aspect of God's grace. Our God-given uniqueness leads to division of labor; and division of labor brings about the tremendous bounty of goods and services that we (perhaps) take for granted.
Follow me on Twitter @DivineEconomy
For more information go to my newly renovated website.
If you know of anyone interested in ethics and economics,
or liberty and justice, please send them this link:
http://divineec.ipower.com/2/
Each human being is created unique and when that potential becomes expressed through purposeful action something comes into existence that is also unique. It may be a new way of doing an ordinary task which leads to greater productivity, which then frees up resources that are used to make new things. Or it may be an act that leads directly to a new and unique product or service.
We all are the beneficiaries of this aspect of God's grace. Our God-given uniqueness leads to division of labor; and division of labor brings about the tremendous bounty of goods and services that we (perhaps) take for granted.
Follow me on Twitter @DivineEconomy
For more information go to my newly renovated website.
If you know of anyone interested in ethics and economics,
or liberty and justice, please send them this link:
http://divineec.ipower.com/2/
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