Introduction to Inframarginalism and This Volume
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Description
Progressives who respond to conservative law and economic arguments by rejecting neoclassical economic theory are making a mistake. Neoclassical economics is the only ideology that honors the modern view – associated with the Death of God narrative in Western culture – that there are no longer universal standards of value. To make a case for redistribution of wealth that appeals to the modern view regarding value – a view that progressives themselves hold – progressives must engage with economics. Fortunately, the concept of the gains from trade in neoclassical economics (also known as "surplus" or "economic rent") allows progressives to make a strong case for redistribution of wealth. That is because gains from trade can be redistributed without harming efficiency by varying the prices at which inframarginal units change hands. This insight is called "inframarginalism" to contrast it with the conservative view that the valuations of the marginal buyer and seller pin down price in competitive markets and therefore prevent redistribution of the gains from trade.
Publication Date
2025
Book Title
Toward an Inframarginal Revolution: Redistributing the Gains from Trade
Book Author/Editor
Ramsi A. Woodcock
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
City
Cambridge
ISBN
9781009306720
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009306720.001
Keywords
marginalism, inframarginalism, surplus, rents, gains from trade
Disciplines
Antitrust and Trade Regulation | Law
Recommended Citation
Woodcock, Ramsi A., "Introduction to Inframarginalism and This Volume" (2025). Law Faculty Books and Chapters. 62.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/lawfac_book/62
Notes
Woodcock, Ramsi A. “Introduction to Inframarginalism and This Volume” in Toward an Inframarginal Revolution: Redistributing the Gains from Trade. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2025.