The joyous birth and sad story of the death of Homo Economicus: a perspective from and implications for economic sociology

This chapter reconsiders the rise and fall of the concept of Homo Economicus in economics especially from the perspective of and in view of its implications for economic sociology. It first examines the rise and dominance of Homo Economicus in classical political economy and neoclassical economics. Then it analyzes the fall or decline and abandonment of Homo Economicus beginning in parts of neoclassical economics and continuing in much of contemporary economics. In addition, it suggests the reasons for the rise and especially fall of Homo Economicus in the development of economics. The chapter places the rise and fall of Homo Economicus in the context of rising and falling theories, concepts and ideas within economics, sociology and other social science. It intends to contribute toward better understanding the evolution of a crucial concept and assumption of conventional economics and its implications for economic sociology as well as, its apparent opposite the contemporary economic approach to human behavior and rational choice theory, including its version in sociology.