ABSTRACT
Hardly a day passes when we are not reminded of government’s direct im pact on our economic affairs. We stop at traffic lights on roads provided by government, buy government inspected beef, suffer tax deductions from our weekly paychecks, and receive government furnished education. When government influences private decisions it takes some of the What, How, and For Whom to Produce decisions out of the pure market arena. Most defenders of the market system concede that it is appropriate and necessary in modem society for government to perform a more intrusive role than envisioned for it in a simple, pure market economy. However, how far it should and can go without doing more harm than good is a sub ject of continuing debate. If government is to be an effective instrument of social will in economic affairs, we must match our heightened concern with improved understanding.
