Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Is capitalism merely of utilitarian or material value? Is it merely the only viable alternative? Are free markets and economic activity in fundamental tension with morality, or might they be fully compatible with the good life, indeed, even an integral part of it? Even some defenders of capitalism have had difficulty squaring market activity with morality. Bernard Mandeville wrote about private vices bringing about public benefits. Adam Smith famously remarked that individuals are led by an invisible hand to benefit the public interest while seeking only to further their own interests. In this way, many defenders of capitalism attempt to find some measure of value and justification in so-called private vices and self-interest, and in capitalism itself. This paper contends that such utilitarian defenses are flawed and concede too much to critics of free markets and free enterprise. The paper draws on the work of a number of thinkers including Aristotle, H.B. Acton and economists of the Austrian School to explore the nature of the market process and the ethical and cultural foundations of free markets and free enterprise. Moreover, contra Mandeville and Smith, the paper offers an account of how free markets encourage certain important virtues and discourage certain vices. The paper is a chapter of a dissertation on the development of a(n) (neo-)Aristotelian form of liberalism.

Publication Type: Proceeding
Abstract: Free access to the media for contenders can play a critical role in determining political outcomes, as was amply demonstrated by the Chilean opposition during the 1988 plebiscite on military rule. Although the policy literature has embraced free access to the electronic media as a panacea, there is still no argument concerning where we would expect to see such measures enacted. In this paper we present two alternative theoretical approaches to address this issue, and test seven specific hypotheses explaining the presence of free media access for political parties in both developed and developing nations. We find that free media access is not related to a country’s level of democracy, wealth, structure of media ownership, or type of executive system (presidential / parliamentary). In contrast, free media is systematically more likely to be found in largely populated countries and those with PR/mixed electoral systems.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Despite the popularity of thousands of free games that are offered on the Internet, communication researchers thus far paid little research attention to this phenomenon. The present study attempted to fill this void in research. By means of a paper-and-pencil questionnaire, we investigated 4th through 6th graders’ (N = 343) uses, gratifications, and opinions related to free online games and we investigated gender differences in free online game play. Results showed that the gratifications that children derive from free online games differ from the gratifications that were reported in video game studies. In addition, contrary to what has been found in video game research--boys and girls did not differ very much in their amount of free online game play. However, their motives for playing such games and their choice of games did vary.

Publication Type: Session Paper
Abstract: Serious concerns about racist economic and planning policies, unregulated industrial growth, and Disneyesque tourism attractions face the community of New Orleans in rebuilding the city after Katrina. Using political economy and Jhally’s (1993 and 2000) theories on the way the marketplace structures our relationship to society, this paper examines the impact of capitalist market structure on public dialogues about rebuilding the city. The case study analyzes an event held at Xavier University of Louisiana that involved community organizations, activist, journalist, and the Xavier community in a dialogue about community development. The dialogue was analyzed to assess the strength of a free-market approach that frames rebuilding as economic progress to the detriment of particular communities in the city – those without economic power. While the free-market structures public engagement, participants also criticize unregulated economic and social policies that favor private corporate interests over the public good.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Beginning in 1978, the Chinese government initiated a transition from a centrally planned economy to a market based economy. While this conversion has resulted in exceptional economic growth and increased prosperity for China’s people, it also created challenges to China’s communist policies. Almost three decades later, these challenges persist in the form of a tension between open economic growth and a closed political system. Such tension is most visibly manifested in the medium of the Internet, where the free market system and freedom of expression combine and, sometimes, collide.
China’s government has labored to keep the Internet open for business but closed to threatening political ideas and discussions. But China’s attempts to keep a lid on the Internet also prevent many western Internet companies from providing their services to Chinese citizens. The interference with western nations’ businesses amounts to a form of trade barrier, and violates China’s free trade obligations as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Under WTO rules, such trade barriers may be challenged by other member nations through the WTO dispute settlement body. If China’s Internet actions and policies were determined to be violations by the WTO dispute settlement body, western nations could impose countervailing sanctions against China. This settlement process could create an effective method for western nations to push China toward a freer Internet and a more open society.