ABSTRACT
What would you think if, upon opening your morning newspaper, you found
a list of axioms that, unbeknownst to you and without any public consultation that you were aware of, a group of well-intentioned economists had put
together as the ‘‘solution concept’’ for-say-the distribution of incomes or
the allocation of public subsidies? What would you think if these axioms
were affirmed from the top down as ‘‘scientific’’ and there was no visible
room for you or your fellow citizens to influence their content in the future?
