Tragic Choice: The Conflict Faced by Society When Tragically Allocating Scarce Resources

Author: (USA) Guido Calabresi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-04-01
Features: Scarcity is a fundamental fact of existence. Scarcity issues are pervasive in the decisions society must make, which determine the quantity of specific goods to be produced and who should receive them. In this bold and innovative work, two legal scholars explore the tensions and tragic outcomes often accompanying such decisions, whether they occur in a market context, within the political sphere, or are merely influenced by customs. The subtitle—Social Conflicts in the Tragic Allocation of Scarce Resources—specifically defines the scope of the book's research. This is a problem that any society faces, whether it is the United Kingdom, Italy, or our own country, which cannot escape the tragic reality of the inevitable tragic consequences of allocating scarce resources, while often manifesting in different forms and severely troubling human life. After analyzing various types of decisions that must face tragic allocations and their outcomes, the two authors propose an insightful theory. This common-sense theory has now become a necessary consideration in contemporary legal economics research. The author Calabresi is a leading figure in the Chicago School of Law and Economics, and this book is one of the most highly cited academic works in law since 1978 in the United States.