On the problem of scale: Spinozistic sovereignty as the logical foundation of constitutional economics

Article


Gussen, Benjamen F.. 2013. "On the problem of scale: Spinozistic sovereignty as the logical foundation of constitutional economics." The Journal of Philosophical Economics. 7 (1), pp. 1-19.
Article Title

On the problem of scale: Spinozistic sovereignty as the logical foundation of constitutional economics

ERA Journal ID201607
Article CategoryArticle
Authors
AuthorGussen, Benjamen F.
Journal TitleThe Journal of Philosophical Economics
Journal Citation7 (1), pp. 1-19
Number of Pages19
Year2013
Place of PublicationBucharest, Romania
ISSN1843-2298
1844-8208
Web Address (URL)http://www.jpe.ro/?id=revista&p=291
Abstract

This paper argues that sovereignty, as envisaged by Spinoza, is the logical foundation of constitutional economics. Constitutional constructs such as sovereignty weave an evolutionary dialectic between different organizational scales (the local, national, and global). This dialectic continues to wreak havoc at the local scale, and can be interrupted only through explicit constitutional constraints on the size of jurisdictions. The paper argues for more emphasis on constitutional orders in the spirit of Spinoza’s understanding of sovereignty. This entails preference for federal polities in which sovereignty is shared between different cities rather states where once capital cities dominate.

Keywordsconstitutional economics, sovereignty, Spinoza
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020489999. Other law and legal studies not elsewhere classified
380399. Economic theory not elsewhere classified
Public Notes

Journal of Philosophical Economics is an open access e-journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author provided acknowledgement is given to the original source of publication.

Byline AffiliationsUniversity of Auckland, New Zealand
Institution of OriginUniversity of Southern Queensland
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