Michael Munger on Obedience to the Unenforceable

What this episode covers

Civilization and the pleasantness of everyday life depend on unwritten rules. Early in the 20th century, an English mathematician and government official, Lord Moulton, described complying with these rules as "obedience to the unenforceable"--the area of personal choice that falls between illegal acts and complete freedom. Listen as economist Michael Munger talks with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about the power and challenge of the unenforceable.

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Michael Munger on EconTalk EconTalk: Mike Munger and Russ Roberts Michael C. Munger, Director of the interdisciplinary Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) program at Duke University, appears regularly as a guest on EconTalk, the award-winning economics podcast hosted by Russ Roberts of Stanford University's Hoover Institution. Podcast episodes featuring Mike Munger are listed here. EconTalk has been taking the Monday out of Mondays since 2006. All 750+ episodes are available in the archive. Go to EconTalk.org for transcripts, related resources, and comments. EconTalk Archives, 2006 EconTalk: Russ Roberts, Library of Economics and Liberty EconTalk is an award-winning weekly talk show about economics in daily life. Featured guests include renowned economics professors, Nobel Prize winners, and exciting speakers on all kinds of topical matters related to economic thought. Topics include health care, free trade, economic growth, education, finance, politics, sports, book reviews, parenting, and the curiosities of everyday decision-making. Russ Roberts, of the Library of Economics and Liberty (econlib.org) and George Mason U., draws you in with lively guests and creative repartee. Look for related readings and the complete archive of previous shows at EconTalk.org, where you can also comment on the podcasts and ask questions. Rob Wiblin's top recommended EconTalk episodes v0.2 Feb 2020 EconTalk: Russ Roberts, Library of Economics and Liberty Rob Wiblin's favourite 100 episodes of EconTalk — the award-winning weekly talk show about economics in daily life: http://econtalk.orgA selection of the 'top 11' have modified release dates so they show up at the top when you choose to show the most recent first. The rest are then listed by release date.Learn more about this list and the episodes: https://tinyurl.com/rob-top-econtalkRob Wiblin's personal website: http://robwiblin.com EconTalk at GMU EconTalk: Russ Roberts, Library of Economics and Liberty EconTalk is an award-winning weekly talk show about economics in daily life. Featured guests include renowned economics professors, Nobel Prize winners, and exciting speakers on all kinds of topical matters related to economic thought. Topics include health care, business cycles, economic growth, free trade, education, finance, politics, sports, book reviews, parenting, and the curiosities of everyday decision-making. Russ Roberts, of the Library of Economics and Liberty (econlib.org) and George Mason U., draws you in with lively guests and creative repartee. Look for related readings and the complete archive of previous shows at EconTalk.org, where you can also comment on the podcasts and ask questions.

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This episode is 1 hour and 10 minutes long.

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This episode was published on June 19, 2023.

What is this episode about?

Civilization and the pleasantness of everyday life depend on unwritten rules. Early in the 20th century, an English mathematician and government official, Lord Moulton, described complying with these rules as "obedience to the unenforceable"--the...

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