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Case Study Adam's Fallacy

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1.Adam Smith published two great books, one on economics and one on ethics. Many people have alleged that the two present very different views of human motives and behavior. What is the alleged contradiction? (This is the so-called Adam Smith Problem). Is it truly a contradiction, in your view? Why or why not? Your answer should demonstrate knowledge of the key aspects of Smith’s ethics. How is the purported Adam Smith problem related to what Foley calls “Adam’s Fallacy,” if at all? Lastly, Smith arguable saw his economics and his ethics as complementary. Is the complete divorce of economic from ethical questions that now prevails a good thing or a bad thing, do you think? Defend your answer. The alleged contradiction is that Smith attributes …show more content…

The Adam Smith problem related to what Foley calls “Adam’s Fallacy’ lies in that they both believe there is a contradiction of Smith’s idea about the pursuit of profits. Smith declared that the pursuit for self-interest will contribute to the development of the society, while he emphasized the role of sympathy in ethics. This is consistent with the “Adam’s Fallacy” that Smith has two standards in the economic and non-economic system. Smith indicated that the pursuit of self-interest may lead to ethical issues in the non-economic …show more content…

The classical economists’ flirtation with the labor theory of value (LTV) has been criticized as a dead-end street What is the labor theory of value? How does Ricardo use the labor theory of value to critique Smith’s theory of value? What are the chief criticisms of the LTV. The standard critique assumes that the sole point of the LTV was to explain relative prices. Would Sraffa agree? Explain. What is the role of the LTV in classical economics, according to Sraffa. The labor theory of value (LTV) argues that the economic value of commodities or service is determined by the quantity of labor required to obtain them, instead of by the use its owner obtain from it. Adam Smith believed that the value of products is consistent with the number of labors or time required to obtain them. For example, “it usually costs twice the labor to kill a beaver which it does to kill a deer, one beaver should naturally exchange for or be worth two deer” (Hunt, 2015). The price of the commodity can change according to the number of labor used to produce it, or the state

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Zinn believes the collective efforts of individuals alone, without a huge income motivating them would be efficient enough and would work well. He argues that there is no real proof that incentives are even necessary, therefore not needed. Zinn would agree with the philosopher and socialist St.Thomas Aquinas in the sense that Aquinas believes man can unselfishly work towards a goal together because everyone is willing to fulfill their own specific duties. This parallels with Zinn’s belief that people do not need huge incomes to incentivise them. On the other hand, Zinn would disagree with Adam Smith in his belief that man “seeks self interest in competition”.

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The commercials on the television, the advertisements placed on newspapers and the banners by big conglomerates have one thing in common: They are mostly geared towards children. Chapter 2 of the book Fast Food Nation, written by Eric Schlosser provides a history of two big American companies, McDonalds and Disney, and how their selfish desires led to marketing directed towards children. Schlosser’s central idea and usage of argumentative techniques along with bias define this chapter’s purpose as an educational work designed to reveal the antics of big money corporations. The central idea of this chapter is focused solely on the greed and selfishness of big corporations as they try to advance their business and gain profits while being

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American philosopher Henry David Thoreau stated, that “The Price of anything is the amount of time you exchange for it.” People throughout the world have begun to question whether his statement is accurate or not. Upon looking farther at his statement, it is concluded that he is, in fact correct. If you look around you can see proof and instances that support his claim. You just have to look through a wide view.

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