Introduction

Over the years I have written essays on several fundamental concepts in economics. These include cost, coercion, property, rent, the legal-economic nexus, the problem of order, and distribution. Each of these concepts is characterized by the multiple ways it can be approached and formulated. Because no one formulation can deal with all the issues engendered by each concept, this multiplicity is perennial. Also important is the fact that even if, in some sense, these concepts can be treated as referring to something given and transcendent, they are, as we use them, socially constructed tools of analysis (and of policy).