The Samaritan's Dilemma in the Caritapolis

Here's a new Mere Economics-adjacent paper, "The Samaritan's Dilemma in the Caritapolis," that I wrote for an Independent Review symposium on James M. Buchanan's "The Samaritan's Dilemma." The abstract:

James M. Buchanan's "The Samaritan's Dilemma" was not a comment on the biblical parable of the Good Samaritan. Rather, it brought a problem many people will find familiar into high relief: we don't like others' discomfort, so it is possible to be indulgently charitable to the point that we encourage people to seek aid or behave badly. This article explores when the Samaritan faces a "dilemma" and when he does not. Adhering to a "Make More, Take Less" ethic is one way to take care of strangers in need without creating Samaritan's Dilemmas.

And as a lagniappe, an encyclopedia article on Entrepreneurial Alertness with my colleague Reginald J. Harris.