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This chapter is concerned with the idea that the self-interested individual is a driving force behind human sociality. It first provides a further definition of economics, where it notes that while capitalist economic concerns may have little or no relevance to the Wola “economy,” there are still some formal economic concepts that can be used to study non-money-using survival orders. One such concept is that of the individual interest, which is argued to inform specific features of Wola behavior. The Melanesian individual is popular in social interaction, while the corporate person directs one to the “corporatism takes precedence over individualism” argument. At this point, one can note that the chapter has deviated from economic issues and enters more sociological matters, such as differentiating the moral person from the individual actor. This is considered a relevant move in order to understand the political economy. Choice is the final key assumption in the definition of economics.

This chapter outlines the recent developments in social security policy. The analysis starts with a review of key themes in welfare reform since 1997. It is argued that New Labour has considerably reformed the social security system, which was driven by the need to adapt to societal changes and economic policy concerns. It also examines the recent developments, which include the ones related to welfare to work, Incapacity Benefit, policies for lone parents, and pension reform. The chapter furthermore considers the emerging trends that can be translated into primary long-term reforms if Labour returns to office in 2005.

This chapter examines two “Small Towns, Big Projects” experiences, which refer to large energy projects located in small communities, as well as the problems arising from such mismatches. The first project discussed is the Maine Yankee Atomic Power Plant in Wiscasset, Maine. After a generally successful two decades of operation, the plant ran afoul of safety concerns and the economics of power production. It ceased operation in 1997, leaving the community with significant clean up burdens. The second is the Intermountain Power Project (IPP), a coal-fired electric generating plant in rural Millard County, Utah. The IPP began production in 1986 and remains in operation today. However, it faces environmental and cost concerns faced by all coal-fired plants in 2016.

This chapter examines the decline of the American labor movement and the barriers to successful organizing created by the dismantling of the federal labor regulations. It then focuses on the work of two major religious worker-justice organizations, Interfaith Worker Justice (IWJ) and Clergy and Laity Concerned for Economic Justice (CLUE), both of which were constituted as interreligious organizations. Both act as moral voices in the midst of an increasingly difficult union-organizing climate and also function as bridges between borderlands and cosmopolitan social locations. In recent years, the IWJ has created a number of worker-justice centers, which embody the institutional hybridity common among borderlands organizations. Meanwhile, the CLUE recently initiated a series of dialogues between African American and Latino clergy and is successfully recruiting evangelical clergy to support worker justice.

This concluding chapter reiterates the points made in the previous chapters to tell a story of how a commercial law was created by giving voice in law to broader political economic concerns. Although, as with the Factors Acts, there were instances of conflict between judges and merchants, the overall picture here is not one of judges pushing back against merchants riding the tide of economic progress. Unlike many modern courts, judges did not see their role as simply encouraging commercial activity. This was rooted in the wider belief that commercial activity was not per se desirable, as too much trade was causing economic instability. This was not a mindset specific to judges or lawyers. This analysis itself raises a broader question. Given that large joint stock companies were perceived of us inefficient and even immoral, why did England introduce general incorporation in 1844, and limited liability in 1855? The chapter draws from the foregoing analysis to make some observations.