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- Title
Negative externalities and Sen’s liberalism theorem.
- Authors
Saari, Donald G.; Petron, Anne
- Abstract
Sen’s seminal, negative theorem about minimal liberalism has had a profound effect on economics, philosophy, and the social sciences. To address concerns raised by his result, we show how Sen’s assumptions must be modified to obtain positive conclusions; e.g., one resolution allows an agent to be decisive only if his choice does not impose “strong negative externalities” on others. We also uncover a significantly different interpretation of Sen’s societal cycles: rather than describing the rights of individuals to choose, the cycles identify when these choices impose difficulties on others. Other ways to address Sen’s difficulties come from game theory.
- Subjects
LIBERALISM; ECONOMICS; PHILOSOPHY; SOCIAL sciences; EXTERNALITIES
- Publication
Economic Theory, 2006, Vol 28, Issue 2, p265
- ISSN
0938-2259
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s00199-005-0622-9