{"product_id":"the-economics-of-justice-9780674235250","title":"The Economics of Justice","description":"\u003cp\u003eRichard A. Posner is probably the leading scholar in the rapidly growing field of the economics of law; he is also an extremely lucid writer. In this book  he applies economic theory to four areas of interest to students of social and legal institutions: the theory of justice  primitive and ancient social and legal institutions  the law and economics of privacy and reputation  and the law and economics of racial discrimination. The book is designed to display the power of economics to organize and illuminate diverse fields in the study of nonmarket behavior and institutions. A central theme is the importance of uncertainty to an understanding of social and legal institutions. Another major theme is that the logic of the law  in many ways but not all  appears to be an economic one: that judges  for example  in interpreting the common law  act as if they were trying to maximize economic welfare. Part I examines the deficiencies of utilitarianism as both a positive and a normative basis of understanding law  ethics  and social institutions  and suggests in its place the economists concept of \"wealth maximization.\" Part II  an examination of the social and legal institutions of archaic societies  notably that of ancient Greece and primitive societies  argues that economic analysis holds the key to understanding such diverse features of these societies as reciprocal gift-giving  blood guilt  marriage customs  liability rules  and the prestige accorded to generosity. Many topics relevant to modern social and philosophical debate  including the origin of the state and the retributive theory of punishment  are addressed. Parts III and IV deal with more contemporary social and jurisprudential questions. Part III is an economic analysis of privacy and the statutory and common law rules that protect privacy and related interests-rules that include the tort law of privacy  assault and battery  and defamation. Finally  Part IV examines  again from an economic standpoint  the controversial areas of racial and sexual discrimination  with special reference to affirmative action. Both Part III and Part IV develop as a subtheme the issue of proper standards of constitutional adjudication by the Supreme Court.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45529690374197,"sku":"ByrdShop_0674235258","price":250.1,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780674235250_a6591b6c-d2f7-4305-a3d8-28e5743b033b.jpg?v=1780942067","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-economics-of-justice-9780674235250","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}