>Date: Thu, 20 Jul 95 08:32:08 -0700
>From: arhu032@uabdpo.dpo.uab.edu (Scott Arnold)
>Subject: Book Abstract

Upon reading the message from Kurt Wickman about his book on the Swedish
economy, it occurred to me that members of this list might be interested in
receiving abstracts of recently published works by other members of the
list.  Accordingly, I am enclosing an abstract of my recently published
book.  I urge others to post abstracts of their articles and books (with
relevant publication information) as they become available.

  Arnold, N. Scott. THE PHILOSOPHY AND ECONOMICS OF MARKET SOCIALISM .
   New York: Oxford University Press, 1994. 301 pages.

THE PHILSOPHY AND ECONOMICS OF MARKET SOCIALISM argues that the most
defensible version of a market socialist economic system would be unable to
realize widely held socialist ideals and values.  In particular, it would be
responsible for widespread and systematic exploitation.  The charge of
exploitation, which is really a charge of injustice, has typically been made
against capitalist systems by socialists.  This book argues that it is
market socialism--the only form of socialism worth talking about
anymore--that is systematically exploitative.  Recent work on the economics
of contracts and organizations is used to show that the characteristic
organizations of a free enterprise system, the classical capitalist firm and
the modern corporation., are structured in such a way that opportunities for
exploitation among economic actors (e.g., workers, managers, providers of
capital) tend to be minimized.  By contrast, in a market socialist system of
worker cooperatives, opportunities for exploitation would abound.  This
comparative analysis of market socialism and the free enterprise system on
the issue of exploitation is situated in the larger context of the
capitalism/ socialism debate.  In his account of this debate, the author
offers a vision of the relationship between economics (or, more generally,
social science) and political philosophy that may have applications in other
areas and to other questions in social and political philosophy.

A more elaborate summary of this book and a table of contents is available
from the author (Scott Arnold) at:     ARHU032@UABDPO.DPO.UAB.EDU