iam glad you mention that example, because it is the single most frequently mentioned example that i despiseand really dislike. I think if they had picked a large enough fine, they wouldn't have seen n increase in people being late. So i don't think you want to say, as one should say, and it is a general principle that substituting money for normsa is counterproductive. But then the trick would be to go into each particular case and ask, how does this balance out?
Author, economist, and theologian Mary Hirschfeld of Villanova University talks about her book, Aquinas and the Market, with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Hirschfeld looks at the nature of our economic activity as buyers and sellers and whether our pursuit of economic growth and material well-being comes at a cost. She encourages a skeptical stance about the ability of more stuff to produce true happiness and/or satisfaction. The conversation includes a critique of economic theory and the aspect of human satisfaction outside the domain of economists.