No Free Lunch: Economics for a Fallen World: Third Edition, Revised

Chapter Two: Fundamentals of Economic Behavior 58 12. Explain why everyone has to have a comparative advantage, and why that opens up the door to mutually beneficial trade. 13. One secular value system is known as utilitarianism. Consider its creed, “the greatest good for the greatest number.” Why can that not be practically applied? Hint: consider how the “greatest good” would be measured. Is it a cardinal or ordinal measure? What does this suggest about a “scientific” way of applying the “public interest” for specific policies? 14. True or False: Diminishing marginal utility means that the next increment of a good decreases overall (total) utility.