Economics with Justice
Economics as though people really matter
This approach to economics has justice at its heart and offers new perspectives on economic thought and practice. The Economics Group in the School seeks to understand the elementary principles underlying the economic activity of the individual, the State and the world at large.
The Economics Group has three main aspects to its work:
- Presenting courses and lectures of current interest
- Research, including submissions to Government commissions
- Working with other groups with similar economic and social interests
Courses & Lectures
Course
This 9 week course shows how Truth and Justice in economics offer the best prospect for eliminating the current chaos and generating prosperity for all.
This is a practical course, based on simple yet effective principles, and requires no previous study of economics.
The course takes a radical look at such topics as:
- The 3 essential elements of wealth creation.
- How is rent set and what is a reasonable level of profit?
- What determines fair salary and wage levels?
- How credit best serves commerce and consumers.
- The true role of the banks and just interest payments.
- The 4 values necessary for an economic transaction to take place.
- The merits of Free Trade versus Protected Trade in creating prosperity .
- The master key to creating fair taxation and justly funding government and its activities.
- Making the best use of the resources of the nation.
See Course Details at the top of the page for information on course times and how to apply.
Lectures
The most recent public lecture sponsored by the Economics Group, this time in conjunction with the Land Resource Research Group, filled the Samuel Beckett Theatre, Trinity College, Dublin, in April 2009. Many of the two hundred attending participated in the lively debate and open discussion between the guest speaker, Fred Harrison, the panel of well know speakers in the property and land taxation debate, and the general audience.
Full details available at http://www.lrrg.org/
Research & Submissions
The Economics Group’s current research project is in the area of taxation, in particular, the use of land value taxation as a key component for economic prosperity. The Group has submitted three papers to Government commissions on this subject. These may be read or downloaded here:
- Supplementary Submission to the Commission on Taxation, May 1981
- Submission to Committee on the Constitution on Private Property, September, 2003
- Submission to the Commission on Taxation, May 2009
- Submission to the Commission on Taxation, August 2009
Recommended Reading
Available from larger booksellers, the internet or the School's bookshop
Nature of Society
Leon MacLaren, The School of Economic Science
The author was the founder of the School of Economic Science. This book was written to explain the principles of economics upon which the teaching in the School is based and remains the most comprehensive and approachable account of them. Guided by a sense of truth and justice, the reader is led to the simplicity of the laws governing the relations in human society and to a vision of a world in which understanding of natural laws can lead to peace, prosperity and freedom for all.
A New Model of the Economy
Brian Hodgkinson, 2008
Presenting a radical revision of modern economic theory, this analysis adjusts the entire range of economic thought in relation to the fundamental part played by land, the significance of credit—especially in the banking system—and the crucial impact of the taxation method. The resulting system based upon natural law, economic
"A very important book... [It] is much more relevant to the present state of the real-world economies than the models offered by most economics textbooks."
James Robertson Newsletter
Boom Bust:
House Prices, Banking and the Depression of 2010
Fred Harrison, 2007
"For anyone seeking to understand the vagaries of the housing market, this is a fascinating read."
Sunday Telegraph
"There are some fascinating insights into cycles, property and rents."
John Calverley, Chief Economist, American Express Bank
"The essence of its argument is that the majority of current property prices reflect land value rather than building costs."
Professional Investor
"Harrison's book is a formidable challenge to the apologists of the status quo."
American Journal of Economics and Sociology
Progress and Poverty
Henry George, 1880
The book is a treatise on the cyclical nature of an industrial economy and its remedies. When first published it became a worldwide best-seller almost at once. Reviewers hailed it as one of the most remarkable books of the century. Newspapers ran portions of it as a serial. Foreign editions were published in more than a dozen languages. Within a few years more than two million copies of the book had been sold, and many more than that number of people were familiar with its ideas. Henry George's popularity was such that, when the Labor Party drafted to run for mayor of New York City, he finished second in a three-way race, outpolling Theodore Roosevelt but losing to the Tammany candidate.
When George died a decade later in the heat of another New York mayoralty campaign, more than a hundred thousand people passed his bier to pay respect, and the funeral procession through the city streets was compared to Lincoln's.
Yet such are the vagaries of intellectual fame that Henry George today is little more than a footnote in the history and economics texts.
Working Together
The economics Group continues to work with other organizations interested in promoting the efficacy of an equitable taxation system based on reducing the levels of taxation on labour and enterprise and basing it more effectively on the use of natural resources. Links to some of these groups are:
Bookmark this page:
Course Details
Duration
9 sessions, of two hours, with refreshment break
Next Course
Starting Wednesday, 27th January, 7.30 pm (enrol 7.15 pm)
Location
Dublin: 47 Northumberland Road, D4
Requirements
An enquiring mind, no previous knowledge of the topic is assumed.
Fee
€100. €75 if currently a philosophy student.
Enrolment
Advance booking not required. Enrolment takes place fifteen minutes before the lecture on the first day of your attendance. Fee payable at first class.
