Consumerism and Economic Thought

Flashcards covering key concepts from an economics lecture on consumerism, neoclassical economics, and heterodox economic thought.

Neoclassical Economics

Framework emphasizing agents and rationality, mathematical tools like marginal utility and surplus analysis, and welfare theorems.

First Welfare Theorem

Competitive markets produce socially optimal outcomes.

Second Welfare Theorem

Any social optimum can be achieved through market mechanisms combined with redistribution.

Heterodox Tradition

A collection of alternative economic approaches marginalized over time, often addressing issues like inequality and economic growth.

Historical School

Influential in 19th-century Germany and England, emphasizing empirical, historically grounded analysis over universal laws.

Friedrich List

Criticized free-trade dogma, arguing that countries industrialized by nurturing key industries through tariffs and subsidies.

Infant Industries

Protected industries that play a pivotal role in triggering economic growth in stage-based models of economic evolution.

Jacques Necker

An anti-physiocrat French finance minister who advocated for state intervention, balanced budgets and public accountability.

Alexander Hamilton

Advocated for industrial subsidies, patent protection, and infrastructure investment in his Report on Manufactures (1791).

Methodenstreit

The 'battle of methods' between the Historical School and the Austrian School that crystallized the divide between empirical specificity and deductive reasoning.

Thorstein Veblen

Introduced concepts like conspicuous consumption and the relativity of utility.

Conspicuous Consumption

Consumption meant to display status rather than fulfill basic needs.

Relativity of Utility

Happiness depends on relative consumption, not just absolute levels.