{"product_id":"9781108735896","title":"Public Debt as a Form of Public Finance: Overcoming a Category Mistake and its Vices","description":"Economists commit a category mistake when they treat democratic governments as indebted. Monarchs can be indebted, as can individuals. In contrast, democracies can't truly be indebted. They are financial intermediaries that form a bridge between what are often willing borrowers and forced lenders. The language of public debt is an ideological language that promotes politically expressed desires and is not a scientific language that clarifies the practice of public finance. Economists have gone astray by assuming that a government is just another person whose impulses toward prudent action will restrict recourse to public debt and induce rational political action.","brand":"Cambridge University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46381409665265,"sku":"9781108735896","price":26.57,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0674\/5433\/7265\/files\/9781108735896_p0.jpg?v=1765135352","url":"https:\/\/shop.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781108735896","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble","version":"1.0","type":"link"}