Efficiency and the Social Ideal

Ross B. Emmett

A chapter in Frank H. Knight in Iowa City, 1919–1928, 2011, pp 329-333 from Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Abstract: In the title of this brief address, the emphasis is to be placed on the word “and.” My point is that to speak of efficiencyasthe ideal would be nonsense, a contradiction in terms. An ideal is one thing, and efficiency in realizing or promoting it is another and very different matter. One can be efficient in working for a bad end just as well as in working for a good one. Neglect of this very elementary truth produces so much confusion of thought in the discussion of social problems that it is justifiable to elaborate and emphasize it.

Date: 2011
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:rhetzz:s0743-4154(2011)000029b033

DOI: 10.1108/S0743-4154(2011)000029B033

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