The marginalist theory of the corporation or firm, whose characteristics were formally developed in the 1930s, represents a major change in the development of traditional economic theory. In this book, David Schrader, a philosopher of economics, discusses the rise of the marginalist conception of the firm in the context of economic thought over the past two centuries, and explains why economists continue to defend a theory with demonstrable shortcomings: the marginalist view of the firm retains its support not through any comparative advantage in empirical or predictive power, but by virtue of its being a part of the predominant marginalist economic program.

The marginalist theory of the corporation or firm, whose characteristics were formally developed in the 1930s, represents a major change in the development of traditional economic theory. In this book, Professor Schrader, a philosopher of economics, discusses the rise of the marginalist conception of the firm in the context of economic thought over the past two centuries, and explains why economists continue to defend a theory with demonstrable shortcomings: the marginalist view of the firm retains its support not through any comparative advantage in empirical or predictive power, but by virtue of its being a part of the predominant marginalist economic program. The clear problems that beset the marginalist approach to the firm signal a general dilemma for economic theory as a whole. Although economists generally remain committed to both a methodological individualism and a preference for non-intentional coordination of economic endeavor, Schrader observes that the modern corporation by its very nature is both a social collective and a locus of intentional coordination of economic activity. An economic theory that does justice to a world in which managerial corporations are among the key agents of production and distribution must generate a theory of collective action to bolster the theory of individual action that forms the present basis for most economic thinking.

This book looks at the general histories of Unitarianism and Universalism, with a focus on Unitarianism on Cape Cod and the Islands, followed by a focus on Universalism on Cape Cod and the Islands, and some general points about the merged denomination at present. We have included in Appendix A the list of Cape & Islands Unitarian ministers and in Appendix B the list of Universalist ministers, using whatever sources were available. We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of both the archives of the Andover-Harvard Theological Library at Harvard University and the Theological Archives at Tufts University. The resources of a number of local historical societies and their volunteers proved valuable in a number of ways, including the Chatham Historical Society, the Brewster Historical Society, the Dennis Historical Society, the Historical Society of Old Yarmouth, and the Sturgis Library in Barnstable.