Praxeology, which traces the consequences of the human pursuit of subjective values, is in the last analysis the best scientific tool for understanding the market and interventionism. But the questions on the previous page suggest that the market can also be seen from a larger perspective, which can help a good synthetic thinker to determine the proper approach for praxeological analysis. That perspective can be summarized using the concepts of need, functional entity, and well-functioning developed in the first two sections of this course:

  1. The market exists in order to serve the need of human beings to think and act autonomously in their dealings with others if they are to benefit from their thoughts and actions in the long run.
  2. The market is therefore a functional entity (pp. 1.4:22-9). Like most functional entities created by humans, it has a specific organization, based on the need it serves for human individuals.
  3. The market can therefore be seen as functioning more or less well (pp. 2.3:1-7), depending on whether conditions allow for its proper unhampered operation.

Although we have now completed Section 4, praxeological thinking will be influential in the remainder of this course. Most immediately, conclusions from our praxeological analysis will be applied in the final subsection of Section 3, examining the application of ethics in a social context.      Next page
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