Alan Ryan
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197262948
- eISBN:
- 9780191734762
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197262948.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, UK Politics
This chapter focuses on the thought that ‘rational, economic man’ may be a useful figment of the economists’ imagination but is not a useful figment of the social and political theorist’s. After some ...
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This chapter focuses on the thought that ‘rational, economic man’ may be a useful figment of the economists’ imagination but is not a useful figment of the social and political theorist’s. After some remarks about the strength of individualism in British political thought, the chapter discusses the post-1945 debate over the virtues of ‘methodological individualism’ and its supposed political implications. The argument then begins in earnest with the late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century Idealist critique of the ‘narrow individualism’ that Idealists believed underlay utilitarianism and earlier forms of liberalism. The discussion also cites some British contributions to the Marxist critique of rational economic man, and ends with a very short discussion of communitarianism.Less
This chapter focuses on the thought that ‘rational, economic man’ may be a useful figment of the economists’ imagination but is not a useful figment of the social and political theorist’s. After some remarks about the strength of individualism in British political thought, the chapter discusses the post-1945 debate over the virtues of ‘methodological individualism’ and its supposed political implications. The argument then begins in earnest with the late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century Idealist critique of the ‘narrow individualism’ that Idealists believed underlay utilitarianism and earlier forms of liberalism. The discussion also cites some British contributions to the Marxist critique of rational economic man, and ends with a very short discussion of communitarianism.
David Gauthier
- Published in print:
- 1987
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198249924
- eISBN:
- 9780191597497
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198249926.003.0010
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
Is a rational morality a necessary evil—a mean between what an individual would judge best—bettering his situation at whatever cost to others, and worst—having one's situation worsened at other's ...
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Is a rational morality a necessary evil—a mean between what an individual would judge best—bettering his situation at whatever cost to others, and worst—having one's situation worsened at other's pleasure? It would seem that Glaucon's fable of the ring of Gyges may be applied to our account of morality. And indeed, matters may be worse—a contractarian morality such as we have developed may seem to be a tool for the clever and strong to use in domination, using the language of cooperation to conceal the reality of exploitation. If we understand ourselves on the model of economic man, treating all basic motivation as exemplifying asociality and all human relationships as contractual, we may find these conclusions hard to escape. Even though we could understand the rational arguments in support of morality, our feelings would be engaged only by our own concerns, and we would lack any affective capacity for morality.Less
Is a rational morality a necessary evil—a mean between what an individual would judge best—bettering his situation at whatever cost to others, and worst—having one's situation worsened at other's pleasure? It would seem that Glaucon's fable of the ring of Gyges may be applied to our account of morality. And indeed, matters may be worse—a contractarian morality such as we have developed may seem to be a tool for the clever and strong to use in domination, using the language of cooperation to conceal the reality of exploitation. If we understand ourselves on the model of economic man, treating all basic motivation as exemplifying asociality and all human relationships as contractual, we may find these conclusions hard to escape. Even though we could understand the rational arguments in support of morality, our feelings would be engaged only by our own concerns, and we would lack any affective capacity for morality.
David Gauthier
- Published in print:
- 1987
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198249924
- eISBN:
- 9780191597497
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198249926.003.0011
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
We appeal to Bernard Suits's Grasshopper to support the thesis that what has intrinsic value in human life is engagement in activities that have instrumental value. The implication of this view is ...
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We appeal to Bernard Suits's Grasshopper to support the thesis that what has intrinsic value in human life is engagement in activities that have instrumental value. The implication of this view is that scarcity in the form of human fulfilment is necessary for human life to have point, and so is the humanly necessary evil. Participation with others to diminish scarcity has necessary instrumental value, and, we argue, for that reason has intrinsic value. A morality of agreement is the foundation of welcome participation, and so, despite its imposition of constraints, necessary to valuing participation and extending that value to one's fellow participants. We then turn to the character of an essentially just society, and show that it is a society not of ‘economic men’ but of liberal individuals, autonomous beings free to choose their own goals and their affective ties with others, and willingly maintaining the moral and social conditions that make this autonomy possible. We note certain doubts about the possibility of creating an essentially just society, but conclude with Nietzsche's account of human beings as having ‘the right to make promises’ to ‘stand as their own guarantors’, and identify this with the ability to interact with one's fellows and the world in a new and distinctive way, which we have called ‘constrained maximization’.Less
We appeal to Bernard Suits's Grasshopper to support the thesis that what has intrinsic value in human life is engagement in activities that have instrumental value. The implication of this view is that scarcity in the form of human fulfilment is necessary for human life to have point, and so is the humanly necessary evil. Participation with others to diminish scarcity has necessary instrumental value, and, we argue, for that reason has intrinsic value. A morality of agreement is the foundation of welcome participation, and so, despite its imposition of constraints, necessary to valuing participation and extending that value to one's fellow participants. We then turn to the character of an essentially just society, and show that it is a society not of ‘economic men’ but of liberal individuals, autonomous beings free to choose their own goals and their affective ties with others, and willingly maintaining the moral and social conditions that make this autonomy possible. We note certain doubts about the possibility of creating an essentially just society, but conclude with Nietzsche's account of human beings as having ‘the right to make promises’ to ‘stand as their own guarantors’, and identify this with the ability to interact with one's fellows and the world in a new and distinctive way, which we have called ‘constrained maximization’.
Charles K. Wilber
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- March 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780823222209
- eISBN:
- 9780823236800
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fso/9780823222209.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
Values embedded in economic theories are somewhat opposed to Christian thought. An example of these values is self-interest. Self-interest is ...
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Values embedded in economic theories are somewhat opposed to Christian thought. An example of these values is self-interest. Self-interest is the result of the fall of human nature, according to Christian beliefs. However in economics, self-interest is not harmful and it even enables people to attain a good life. The first part of this chapter establishes a relationship between morality and economics through the works of Adam Smith. His Theory of Moral Sentiments offers a rich vision of moral society that opposes the basic concept of a“rational economic man.” According to some writings of the church, both state socialism and free-market capitalism violate the two principles of Catholic social thought—special concern for the poor and concern for certain human rights.Less
Values embedded in economic theories are somewhat opposed to Christian thought. An example of these values is self-interest. Self-interest is the result of the fall of human nature, according to Christian beliefs. However in economics, self-interest is not harmful and it even enables people to attain a good life. The first part of this chapter establishes a relationship between morality and economics through the works of Adam Smith. His Theory of Moral Sentiments offers a rich vision of moral society that opposes the basic concept of a“rational economic man.” According to some writings of the church, both state socialism and free-market capitalism violate the two principles of Catholic social thought—special concern for the poor and concern for certain human rights.
Arlie Russell Hochschild
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520241367
- eISBN:
- 9780520937857
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520241367.003.0004
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Theory
This chapter looks into capitalism's drive to commodify social life. It particularly focuses on a job advertisement for a personal assistant and the reactions to this ad. It uses Neil Smelser's work ...
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This chapter looks into capitalism's drive to commodify social life. It particularly focuses on a job advertisement for a personal assistant and the reactions to this ad. It uses Neil Smelser's work on the relationship of family and economy and the psychological function of myth. Together these ideas form an insight that the “economic man” is a culturally and emotionally complex being. This chapter finds that the contradictory human needs for connection and intimacy on the one hand, and control and freedom on the other, come together in the search for a perfect commodity. Advertisements today promise to end people's ambivalence: the myth of capitalism is that through buying something, people can become perfect individuals with perfect relationships. The extreme case of commodification presented in this chapter is an outcome of an historical process of differentiation. It is argued that the moral value of this arrangement does not reside in the facts themselves; it has to be understood in context. The gradual awakening of the family is the most critical in this regard: as individuals become less secure about the reliability of care provided to them by their families, they seek out substitutes which capitalists are eager to provide.Less
This chapter looks into capitalism's drive to commodify social life. It particularly focuses on a job advertisement for a personal assistant and the reactions to this ad. It uses Neil Smelser's work on the relationship of family and economy and the psychological function of myth. Together these ideas form an insight that the “economic man” is a culturally and emotionally complex being. This chapter finds that the contradictory human needs for connection and intimacy on the one hand, and control and freedom on the other, come together in the search for a perfect commodity. Advertisements today promise to end people's ambivalence: the myth of capitalism is that through buying something, people can become perfect individuals with perfect relationships. The extreme case of commodification presented in this chapter is an outcome of an historical process of differentiation. It is argued that the moral value of this arrangement does not reside in the facts themselves; it has to be understood in context. The gradual awakening of the family is the most critical in this regard: as individuals become less secure about the reliability of care provided to them by their families, they seek out substitutes which capitalists are eager to provide.
Jean Boulton, Peter Allen, and Cliff Bowman
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- September 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199565252
- eISBN:
- 9780191821943
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199565252.003.0010
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Organization Studies, Innovation
This chapter looks at the application of complexity theory to economics. It gives a brief overview of the history of economics, and sets out the limitations to neo-classical thinking—there is no ...
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This chapter looks at the application of complexity theory to economics. It gives a brief overview of the history of economics, and sets out the limitations to neo-classical thinking—there is no equilibrium, the future is path-dependent, there is no Economic Man, we cannot separate the economic from the social, political, and environmental, we cannot separate growth from development, we cannot ignore limits to growth. It also looks at the implications of seeing economics through a complexity lens—the need to change mindsets, thinking systemically and connecting up areas of policy, uncertainty is here to stay, size matters, the role of policy interventions.Less
This chapter looks at the application of complexity theory to economics. It gives a brief overview of the history of economics, and sets out the limitations to neo-classical thinking—there is no equilibrium, the future is path-dependent, there is no Economic Man, we cannot separate the economic from the social, political, and environmental, we cannot separate growth from development, we cannot ignore limits to growth. It also looks at the implications of seeing economics through a complexity lens—the need to change mindsets, thinking systemically and connecting up areas of policy, uncertainty is here to stay, size matters, the role of policy interventions.
Gordon Pearson
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- May 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781447356585
- eISBN:
- 9781447356622
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447356585.003.0005
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility
Progression without destruction will only be achieved by real people working singly or together in organisational systems. Human motivation has been the focus of much empirical study, including ...
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Progression without destruction will only be achieved by real people working singly or together in organisational systems. Human motivation has been the focus of much empirical study, including Taylor’s deliberately misinterpreted work study or management science. Motivation is fairly well understood and was summarised in 1960 by McGregor under the headings Theory X and Theory Y, which updated the mid 19th century assumptions of economic man which is the core of neoclassical economics. It is far more nuanced than the simplistic ‘greed is good’ assumption of neoclassical belief. Empirical studies of intrinsic motivation and demotivation in the context of hierarches of human need, are reviewed and conclusions drawn regarding the roles of leadership and money and their impacts on human and organisational performance, nicely summarised by Wilfred Brown’s explanation in ‘Piecework Abandoned’.Less
Progression without destruction will only be achieved by real people working singly or together in organisational systems. Human motivation has been the focus of much empirical study, including Taylor’s deliberately misinterpreted work study or management science. Motivation is fairly well understood and was summarised in 1960 by McGregor under the headings Theory X and Theory Y, which updated the mid 19th century assumptions of economic man which is the core of neoclassical economics. It is far more nuanced than the simplistic ‘greed is good’ assumption of neoclassical belief. Empirical studies of intrinsic motivation and demotivation in the context of hierarches of human need, are reviewed and conclusions drawn regarding the roles of leadership and money and their impacts on human and organisational performance, nicely summarised by Wilfred Brown’s explanation in ‘Piecework Abandoned’.
