K. William Kapp’s heterodox theory of social costs proposes precautionary planning to pre-empt social costs and provide social benefits via socio-ecological safety standards that guarantee the gratification of basic human needs.

Based on arguments from Thorstein Veblen, Karl Marx, and Max Weber, social costs are conceptualized as systemic and large-scale damages caused by markets. Kapp refutes neoclassical solutions, such as bargaining, taxation, and tort law, unmasking them as ineffective, inefficient, inconsistent, and too market-obedient.

The chapters of this book present the social costs of markets and neoclassical economics, the social benefits of environmental controls, development planning, and the governance of science and technological standards. This book demonstrates the fruitfulness of the heterodox theory of social costs as a coherent framework to develop effective remedies for today’s urgent socio-ecological crises.

This volume is suitable for readers at all levels who are interested in the theory of social costs, heterodox economics, and the history of economic thought.