THE BUSINESS SYSTEM

ECONOMIC SYSTEM:

The system a society uses to provide the goods and services it needs to survive and flourish.

GLOBALIZATION:

The process by which the economic and social systems of nations are connected together so that goods, services, capital, and knowledge move freely between nations.

TRADITION BASED SOCIETIES:

Societies that rely on traditional communal roles and customs to carry out basic economic tasks.

In Locke's State of Nature:

• All are free and equal
• Each person owns his body and labour, and whatever he mixes his labour into
• People agree to form a government to protect their right to freedom and property

Lockean Rights:

• The right to life, liberty and property.

Weaknesses of Lockean Rights:

• Assumption that individuals have neutral rights
• Conflict between positive and negative rights
• Conflict between Lockean rights and principles of Justice.
• Locke's individualistic assumptions

INVISIBLE HAND : Arguments of Adam Smith

• According to Adam Smith, the market competition that drives self interested individuals to act in ways that serve society.
• Market Competition ensures that the pursuit of self interest in markets advances of public's welfare.
• Govenment interference in markets does not advance the public's welfare.

Criticisms of Smith's Argument:

• Rests on unrealistic assumptions
• False assumption that all relevant costs are paid by manufacturer
• False assumption that human beings are solely motivated by self interested desire for profit.
• Some degree of economic planning is possible and desirable.
• Keynes's claim that government can affect unemployment.

SAY'S LAW:

In an economy all available resources are used and demand always expands to absorb the supply of commodities made from them.

AGGREGATE DEMAND:

According to John Maynard Keynes, the sum of the demand of the 3 sectors of the econonmy; households,businesses and government.

KEYNESIAN ECONOMIES:

The theory of John Maynard Keynes that free markets alone are not necessarily the most efficient means for co-ordinating the use of society's resources.

SOCIAL DARWINISM:

Belief that economic competition produces human progress.

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST:

Charles Darwin's term for the process of natural selection.

NATURALISTIC FALLACY:

The assumption that whatever happens naturally is always for the best.

ABSOLUTE ADVANTAGE:

A situation where the production costs (costs in terms of the resoueces consumed in producing the good) of making a commodity are lower for one country than for another.

COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE:

A situation where the opportunity costs (costs in terms of other goods given up) of making a commodity are lower for one country than for another.

FREE TRADE:

• Advocated by Smith with the idea of Absolut advantage.
• Advocated by Ricardo with idea of Comparative Advantage.
• Favours Gloablization.

Difficulties in Applying Ricardo's Theory Today:

• Easy movement of capital by companies
• False assumption that a country's prodcution costs are constant.
• Influence of International rule setters.

MEANS OF PRODUCTION:

The buildings, machinery, land and raw materials used in the production of goods and services.

ALIENATION:

In Marx's view not allowing the lower working classes to develop their productive potential, satisy their real human needs, or form satisfying human relationships.

ECONOMIC SUBSTRUCTURE:

The materials and social controls that society uses to produce its economic goods.

SOCIAL SUPERSTRUCTURE:

A society's government and its populare ideologies.

FORCES OF PRODUCTION:

The materials- land, labour,natural resources,machinery,energy,technology used in production.

RELATIONS OF PRODUCTION:

The social controls used in producing goods i.e. the social controls by which society organizes and controls its workers.

HISTORICAL MATERIALISM:

The Marxist view of history as determined by changes in the economic methods by which humanity produces the materials on which it must live.

MARX'S PRINCIPLE Claims of Injustice in Capitalism:

• Exploitation of workers whose "surplus" is taken by owners as "profit".
• Alienation of workers from product, work,self and others.
• Subordination of government to interests of ruling economic class.
• Immiseration of Workers.

IMMISERATION:

The combined effects of increased concentration, cyclic crises, rising unemployment, decliining relative compensation.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY:

Property that consists of an abstract and nonphysical object.

COPYRIGHT:

A grant that indicated that a particular expression of an idea is the private property of an individual or a company.