The Limits Of Government: An Essay On The Public Goods Argument

The most widely accepted justification for political authority is that coercive institutions are necessary to provide for public goods. Making use of the tools of rational choice theory, economics, and the law of contracts, David Schmidtz offers an incisive critique of this argument that will forever change the shape of the debate on this issue. Along the way, he makes significant contributions to our understanding of the logic of contractarian arguments, the prisoner's dilemma, and the institution of property. An important lesson is that a community is and must be primarily a voluntary association, and in his final chapter Schmidtz explores the implications of this lesson for the foundations of morality.