3,372 research outputs found
Natural Right, Providence, and Order: Frédéric Bastiat's Laissez-Faire
The paper suggests that Bastiat’s theory of interests, harmony, and the State is rooted in a particular conception of Natural Right, in which the Lockeans and thomistic streams of thought meet. But it also suggests that Bastiat’s interpretation of the role that Providence plays in human events is not able to give a sustainable theory of liberal order. The paper also considers the criticisms to Bastiat’s economic and political theory coming from exponents of classical liberalism, from the Austrians, and from Catholic thinkers of that time, such as L. Taparelli d’Azeglio and M. Liberatore.
The conclusion is that although the economic theory of Bastiat is by now obsolete from the conceptual point of view, his political theory and his criticism of the state do remain extraordinarily topical.
Cet article suggère que les théories des intérêts, de l’harmonie et de l’Etat de Bastiat sont ancrées dans une conception particulière du droit naturel au confluent des pensées lockéenne et thomiste. Cependant, il suggère aussi que l’interprétation que donne Bastiat du rôle de la Providence dans les affaires humaines ne débouche pas sur une théorie recevable de l’ordre libéral. L’article examine aussi les critiques qu’adressent les partisans du libéralisme classique-tels que les économistes autrichiens, les penseurs catholiques de l’époque comme L. Taparelli d’Azeglio et M. Liberatore-à l’égard des théories économiques et politiques de Bastiat. L’article conclut que le caractère obsolète des théories de Bastiat d’un point de vue conceptuel ne remet pas en cause la singulière actualité de sa théorie politique et de sa critique de l’Etat
The Imaginary Starobinsky Model and Higher Curvature Corrections
We elaborate on the predictions of the imaginary Starobinsky model of
inflation coupled to matter, where the inflaton is identified with the
imaginary part of the inflaton multiplet suggested by the Supergravity
embedding of a pure R + R^2 gravity. In particular, we study the impact of
higher-order curvature terms and show that, depending on the parameter range,
one may find either a quadratic model of chaotic inflation or monomial models
of chaotic inflation with fractional powers between 1 and 2.Comment: 18 page
On Extremal Limits and Duality Orbits of Stationary Black Holes
With reference to the effective three-dimensional description of stationary,
single center solutions to (ungauged) symmetric supergravities, we complete a
previous analysis on the definition of a general geometrical mechanism for
connecting global symmetry orbits (duality orbits) of non-extremal solutions to
those of extremal black holes. We focus our attention on a generic
representative of these orbits, providing its explicit description in terms of
D=4 fields.
As a byproduct, using a new characterization of the angular momentum in terms
of quantities intrinsic to the geometry of the D=3 effective model, we are able
to prove on general grounds its invariance, as a function of the boundary data,
under the D=4 global symmetry. In the extremal under-rotating limit it becomes
moduli-independent. We also discuss the issue of the fifth parameter
characterizing the four-dimensional seed solution, showing that it can be
generated by a transformation in the global symmetry group which is manifest in
the D=3 effective description.Comment: 24 pages, LaTeX source, typos corrected, expressions for the entropy
of the non-extremal solutions adde
Scanning of the Supersymmetry Breaking Scale and the Gravitino Mass in Supergravity
We consider the minimal three-form supergravity coupled to
nilpotent three-form chiral superfields. The supersymmetry breaking is sourced
by the three-forms of the chiral multiplets, while the value of the gravitino
mass is controlled by the three-form of the supergravity multiplet. The
three-forms can nucleate membranes which scan both the supersymmetry breaking
scale and the gravitino mass. The peculiar supergravity feature that the
cosmological constant is the sum of a positive contribution from the
supersymmetry breaking scale and a negative contribution from the gravitino
mass makes the cosmological constant jump. This can lead to a
phenomenologically allowed small value of the cosmological constant even though
the supersymmetry breaking scale and the gravitino mass are dynamically large.Comment: 18 pages, 2 figures, JHEP version, citations adde
Black Hole Solutions in Gravity
We find static spherically symmetric solutions of scale invariant
gravity. The latter has been shown to be equivalent to General Relativity with
a positive cosmological constant and a scalar mode. Therefore, one expects that
solutions of the theory will be identical to that of Einstein theory.
Indeed, we find that the solutions of gravity are in one-to-one
correspondence with solutions of General Relativity in the case of
non-vanishing Ricci scalar. However, scalar-flat solutions are global
minima of the action and they cannot in general be mapped to solutions of
the Einstein theory. As we will discuss, the solutions arise in Einstein
gravity as solutions in the tensionless, strong coupling limit . As a further result, there is no corresponding Birkhoff theorem and the
Schwarzschild black hole is by no means unique in this framework. In fact,
gravity has a rich structure of vacuum static spherically symmetric
solutions partially uncovered here. We also find charged static spherically
symmetric backgrounds coupled to a field. Finally, we provide the
entropy and energy formulas for the theory and we find that entropy and
energy vanish for scalar-flat backgrounds.Comment: 19 pages, revised version with additional reference
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