Journal of Libertarian Studies

Free Exchange and Ethical Decisions

The Journal of Libertarian Studies
Downloads

The economic theory of interpersonal free exchange is beautifully simple. Given two individuals A and B, all we need for an exchange between them to take place is a double inequality. For example, suppose that A has an orange, and B has an apple. If A prefers B’s apple more than his own orange, while B prefers A’s orange more than his own apple, they will exchange.

This is simple, but it could also be misleading.

Volume 17, Number 2 (2003)

CITE THIS ARTICLE

Cucerai, Sorin. “Free Exchange and Ethical Decisions.” Journal of Libertarian Studies 17, No. 2 (2003): 1–9.

All Rights Reserved ©
What is the Mises Institute?

The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that exists to promote teaching and research in the Austrian School of economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, in the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard. 

Non-political, non-partisan, and non-PC, we advocate a radical shift in the intellectual climate, away from statism and toward a private property order. We believe that our foundational ideas are of permanent value, and oppose all efforts at compromise, sellout, and amalgamation of these ideas with fashionable political, cultural, and social doctrines inimical to their spirit.

Become a Member
Mises Institute