Economics helps us to understand that certain slick mechanisms are operating beyond what we see in our daily economic lives. To fully understand and appreciate these mechanisms, we need to master the core mathematical theories, some of which are highly advanced and typically covered in a graduate course. This textbook presents those theories without compromising rigor, but, at the same time, the author offers a number of innovative pedagogical twists that make the difficult materials completely accessible to undergraduate students, and even to general readers. Written in a chatty, colloquial style, the author explains basic messages and core insights that are usually hidden between the lines. The usefulness of these theories is shown through a number of real-life examples, and, in the end, the readers can see that the mathematical models provide deep insights into social justice and philosophy. This book helps readers to think like an economist.

Economics helps us to understand that certain slick mechanisms are operating beyond what we see in our daily economic lives. To fully understand and appreciate these mechanisms, we need to master the core mathematical theories, some of which are highly advanced and typically covered in a graduate course. This textbook presents those theories without compromising rigor, but, at the same time, the author offers a number of innovative pedagogical twists that make the difficult materials completely accessible to undergraduate students, and even to general readers. Written in a chatty, colloquial style, the author explains basic messages and core insights that are usually hidden between the lines. The usefulness of these theories is shown through a number of real-life examples, and, in the end, the readers can see that the mathematical models provide deep insights into social justice and philosophy. This book helps readers to think like an economist.

Shows instructors what mathematics is used at the undergraduate level in various parts of economics. Separate sections provide students with opportunities to apply their mathematics in relevant economics contexts. Brings together many different mathematics applications to such varied economics topics.

Religion is one of humanity's most important cultural achievements, and it continues to have a great influence on people's lives, even to this day. At the same time, however, it is a puzzling phenomenon: Religious teachings often contradict the rational insights of modern science. Numerous attempts have therefore been made throughout the history of humankind to overcome this conflict. This book presents a new interpretation method for religion based on microeconomic theory. Microeconomics is the field of economics that describes human behavior using theoretical models. In the recent past, various branches of microeconomics have emerged, each of which investigates specific aspects of human behavior. One of these branches is the economics of religion, which specializes in describing and explaining religious activities. However, the actual meaning of religious teachings and rituals has not yet been considered in these approaches. The interpretation method used in this book offers a key to understanding religious texts and rituals. For illustration purposes, examples from various world and tribal religions are presented and explained. The microeconomic exegesis enables a rational perspective on religion and can contribute to the reconciliation of faith and reason.

Ecological Economics for the Anthropocene provides an urgently needed alternative to the long-dominant neoclassical economic paradigm of the free market, which has focused myopically—even fatally—on the boundless production and consumption of goods and services without heed to environmental consequences. The emerging paradigm for ecological economics championed in this new book recenters the field of economics on the fact of the Earth's limitations, requiring a total reconfiguration of the goals of the economy, how we understand the fundamentals of human prosperity, and, ultimately, how we assess humanity's place in the community of beings. Each essay in this volume contributes to an emerging, revolutionary agenda based on the tenets of ecological economics and advances new conceptions of justice, liberty, and the meaning of an ethical life in the era of the Anthropocene. Essays highlight the need to create alternative signals to balance one-dimensional market-price measurements in judging the relationships between the economy and the Earth's life-support systems. In a lively exchange, the authors question whether such ideas as "ecosystem health" and the environmental data that support them are robust enough to inform policy. Essays explain what a taking-it-slow or no-growth approach to economics looks like and explore how to generate the cultural and political will to implement this agenda. This collection represents one of the most sophisticated and realistic strategies for neutralizing the threat of our current economic order, envisioning an Earth-embedded society committed to the commonwealth of life and the security and true prosperity of human society.

While a large percentage of Americans claim religious identity, the number of Americans attending traditional worship services has significantly declined in recent decades. Where, then, are Americans finding meaning in their lives, if not in the context of traditional religion? In this provocative study, the authors argue that the objects of our attention have become our god and fulfilling our desires has become our religion. They examine the religious dimensions of six specific aspects of American culturebody and sex, big business, entertainment, politics, sports, and science and technologythat function as “altars†where Americans gather to worship and produce meaning for their lives. The Altars Where We Worship shows how these secular altars provide resources for understanding the self, others, and the world itself. “For better or worse,†the authors write, “we are faced with the reality that human experiences before these altars contain religious characteristics in common with experiences before more traditional altars.†Readers will come away with a clearer understanding of what religion is after exploring the thoroughly religious aspects of popular culture in the United States.