An Anthology regarding Merit Goods: The Unfinished Ethical Revolution in Economic Theory

Merit goods may include both private and public goods if the free market or a political decision process based on individual preferences, respectively, would not result in a sufficient supply of the good being produced and adequately distributed. It poses such philosophical problems as the commonality of all persons in one nature with some minimum requirements to develop and flourish; the understanding of so-called "basic goods," the relationship between the individual and the community, and, in consequence, the foundations of liberty; the right formation of market and political preferences; and many other related questions.