The Economics of Information and the Meaning of Speech

In common usage the communication of information is not sharply distinguished from the use of language or speech to make factual or propositional statements. So it should come as no surprise that one of the main legal justifications for protecting speech--that it underwrites a “marketplace of ideas” and thereby contributes to the search for truth--has strong parallels in the economic theory of information. “Indeed,” as Kenneth Arrow writes, “the market system as a whole has frequently been considered as an organization for the allocation of resources; the typical argument for its superiority to authoritative central allocation has been the greater intake of information through having many participants.” As it turns out, however, the concept of information in the extensive literature on information theory, communications engineering, and mathematical statistics is ill-suited to serve as the conceptual underpinning for a marketplace of ideas. To make this argument, I analyze and discuss the scientific notion of information, especially in its capacity as a commodity that can be exchanged on a market; I then turn to the special constitutional and statutory protections for speech, especially those based or premised on a “marketplace of ideas”--the defining theory of protected speech. As I conclude, the prospects for developing a marketplace of ideas within standard economic theory are decidedly gloomy. “The chief point made here,” Arrow reminds us, “is the difficulty of creating a market for information if one should be desired for any reason.” “The presumption that free markets will lead to an efficient allocation of resources is not valid in this case.” Information theory cannot underwrite even a “marketplace of information,” much less a marketplace of ideas

Cato, Roman Stoicism, and the American ‘Revolution’

This thesis is an examination of the influence of Cato the Younger on the American colonists during the Revolutionary period. It assesses the vast array of references to Cato that appear in the literature, which is a phenomenon not previously given an independent examination. Chapter One assesses the classical education that the American colonists received. It refutes the belief that the colonists’ classical learning was superficial, and establishes that they were steeped in the classics through the colonial grammar school and college curricula, as well as through their own private reading. Chapter Two determines how the Cato narrative was disseminated amongst the colonists. It looks primarily at Joseph Addison’s Cato: A Tragedy (1713) and establishes that the play came to resonate with the colonists as they descended into war with Britain. Chapter Three gives an overview of the American colonies’ relationship with Britain from 1760 until the early years of the war. It shows that the colonists perceived the world through the lens of Roman history, and that as their relationship with Britain deteriorated they established and retreated into a Catonian identity. Chapter Four consists of four case studies of prominent colonists who adopted a Catonian identity in order to express certain political grievances and their viewpoint. The frequency and general acceptance of these Catonian episodes reveals how entrenched in the colonial mindset the Cato narrative was. Chapter Five looks at how women engaged with the Cato narrative through adopting as role models Roman matrons who offered similar principles and characteristics to Cato. The Epilogue traces the decline of Cato’s popularity and the colonists’ transference of favour to Cincinnatus as their new classical role model

Cato, Roman Stoicism, and the American ‘Revolution’

This thesis is an examination of the influence of Cato the Younger on the American colonists during the Revolutionary period. It assesses the vast array of references to Cato that appear in the literature, which is a phenomenon not previously given an independent examination. Chapter One assesses the classical education that the American colonists received. It refutes the belief that the colonists’ classical learning was superficial, and establishes that they were steeped in the classics through the colonial grammar school and college curricula, as well as through their own private reading. Chapter Two determines how the Cato narrative was disseminated amongst the colonists. It looks primarily at Joseph Addison’s Cato: A Tragedy (1713) and establishes that the play came to resonate with the colonists as they descended into war with Britain. Chapter Three gives an overview of the American colonies’ relationship with Britain from 1760 until the early years of the war. It shows that the colonists perceived the world through the lens of Roman history, and that as their relationship with Britain deteriorated they established and retreated into a Catonian identity. Chapter Four consists of four case studies of prominent colonists who adopted a Catonian identity in order to express certain political grievances and their viewpoint. The frequency and general acceptance of these Catonian episodes reveals how entrenched in the colonial mindset the Cato narrative was. Chapter Five looks at how women engaged with the Cato narrative through adopting as role models Roman matrons who offered similar principles and characteristics to Cato. The Epilogue traces the decline of Cato’s popularity and the colonists’ transference of favour to Cincinnatus as their new classical role model

Performances of peace: Utrecht 1713

The Peace of Utrecht (1713), which brought an end to the War of the Spanish Succession, was a milestone in global history. Performances of Peace aims to rethink the significance of the Peace of Utrecht by exploring the nexus between culture and politics. For too long, cultural and political historians have studied early modern international relations in isolation. By studying the political as well as the cultural aspects of this peace (and its concomitant paradoxes) from a broader perspective, this volume aims to shed new light on the relation between diplomacy and performative culture in the public spher

Word Ways v.53 no.4 Complete Issue

The final complete issue of Word Ways in one file

Nucleus 2009: Are You In?

This is a digitized, downloadable version of the New Jersey Institute of Technology Nucleus.https://digitalcommons.njit.edu/yearbooks/1095/thumbnail.jp