Natural Law and Economics
Princeton University | May 7 - 9, 2009

Consultation Preliminary Schedule

Organized by
Witherspoon Institute
The Program in Ethics, Culture, and Economic Development

Sponsored by
The Program in Contemporary European Politics and Culture of Princeton University
The Bendheim Center for Finance of Princeton University

For more information about the consultation,
please email Patrick Hough at phough@winst.org

Consultation Overview
In an article entitled "Globalization, Empire and Natural Law", published in the May 2008 issue of International Affairs, Harold James, Professor of History and International Affairs at Princeton University and Senior Fellow of the Witherspoon Institute, lays out a framework for considering how fundamental values connect to international policy issues:

"Three controversial concepts are central to discussions of how international order originates, how it operates, and, ultimately, how we should respect it: globalization, empire and natural law. Each of these is examined in turn in this article.
The currently prevalent way of thinking about globalization simply as a system of inter-connections, of processes, and networks that span national and cultural boundaries is likely to produce anti-globalization backlashes. Many people reach the conclusion that global rules are simply a euphemism for some sort of imperial or neo-imperial rule. Consequently, there is an increasingly intense discussion of the role of force and power in a global order.
This article suggests an alternative mechanism for creating global order. The power of globalization rests not simply on material prosperity, but on the ability to communicate and share ideas as well as goods across large geographical and cultural distances. Natural law theories suggest that a sustained dialogue between apparently rival traditions of thinking can lead to agreement on shared norms and values."

The Witherspoon Institute, in conjunction with the Bendheim Center for Finance and the Program in European Politics and Society at Princeton University, will host a study meeting on Natural Law and Economics in the spring of 2009. Under the direction of Harold James, the study meeting responds to the emerging need in the global economy to reconsider the principles on which international order is predicated, including property rights and individual human dignity. The aim of the conference is to bring together economists with an interest in policy questions, policy-makers, and philosophers in order to think through the underlying rationale for public policy, as well as to elaborate how that rationale should affect the design of national legislation and of international institutional responses.

Papers and Discussants
Property and Property Rights
Samuel Gregg (Acton Institute)
James Stoner (Louisiana State University)

Trade
Razeen Sally (London School of Economics and Co-Director of the European Centre for International Political Economy)

Individual and Collective Responsibility
Louis W. Pauly (Director, Centre for International Studies, University of Toronto)
Benn Steil (Director of International Economics, Council on Foreign Relations)

Natural Law and the Science of Happiness
Erik Angner (University of Alabama, Birmingham)

The Monetary Order and Global Stability
Amity Shlaes (Syndicated Columnist, Council on Foreign Relations)
Gerald O'Driscoll (Senior Fellow, CATO Institute)

Universality of Human Values
Arthur Waldron (Lauder Professor of International Relations, University of Pennsylvania)

The Natural Law Tradition
Christopher Tollefsen (University of South Carolina)
Thomas Pink (Kings College, London)

By bringing to bear on these concerns the resources of the natural law tradition, the conference aims to take the first steps towards refreshing the discussion of natural law's place in international affairs and proposing a mode of rational inquiry with which global economies can engage while preserving individual cultures.

Discussants
Frank H. Buckley (Foundation Professor of Law; Executive Director George Mason Law and Economics Center)
Brandice Canes-Wrone (Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University)
Mauro De Lorenzo (American Enterprise Institute)
Cecilia Fieler (Princeton University)
Harold James (Princeton University)
Katherine Marshall (Georgetown University)
Paul Oslington (Australian Catholic University, Australia)
Candace Vogler (University of Chicago)