James Otteson on the End of Socialism

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🗓️ 8 December 2014

⏱️ 64 minutes

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Summary

James Otteson of Wake Forest University talks to EconTalk host Russ Roberts about his new book, The End of Socialism. Otteson argues that socialism (including what he calls the "socialist inclination") is morally and practically inferior to capitalism. Otteson contrasts socialism and capitalism through the views of G. A. Cohen and Adam Smith. Otteson emphasizes the importance of moral agency and respect for the individual in his defense of capitalism. The conversation also includes a discussion of the deep appeal of the tenets of socialism such as equality and the impulse for top-down planning.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Econ Talk, part of the Library of Economics and Liberty.
0:06.4	I'm your host, Russ Roberts of Stanford University's Hoover Institution.
0:11.0	Our website is econtalk.org where you can subscribe, comment on this podcast, and find links
0:16.2	and other information related to today's conversation.
0:19.0	You'll also find our archives where you can listen to every episode we've ever done going
0:23.2	back to 2006.
0:25.4	Our email address is mailadycontalk.org.
0:27.9	We'd love to hear from you.
0:32.0	Today is November 25th, 2014, and my guest is James Odison, Executive Director of the
0:38.4	BB&T Center for the Study of Capitalism and Teaching Professor of Political Economy at
0:44.0	Wake Forest University.
0:46.0	His latest book, The End of Socialism is the topic for our conversation today.
0:50.9	Jim, welcome back to Econ Talk.
0:53.2	Thank you very much, Russ.
0:54.2	It's a pleasure to be with you.
0:55.6	I want to start with a longish quote from the book, which I thought sets it up very nicely,
1:02.0	and I get you to add anything to that before we get started into the substance.
1:07.8	Here's what you say.
1:08.8	And this is in a way is, it's not the way you phrase it, but this is in a way an explanation
1:14.1	for why you wrote a book called The End of Socialism.
1:18.4	Some people would say, well, or really any socialists anymore.
1:22.1	And you have the following point very early on.
	...

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