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The Bankruptcy of Economics

In: The Bankruptcy of Economics: Ecology, Economics and the Sustainability of the Earth

Author

Listed:
  • Joseph Wayne Smith

    (University of Adelaide)

  • Graham Lyons

    (Glen Bold Cattle Ranch)

  • Gary Sauer-Thompson

    (Flinders University of South Australia)

Abstract

Rational choice theory dominates orthodox microeconomics, and as we have already mentioned, it is having an increasing influence on the social sciences in general. The broad rational choice approach explains social phenomena by reference to specific individual psychological properties, in particular: (1) it assumes that agents are self-regarding in their desires and actions and (2) in acting to satisfy these self-regarding desires agents will act in accordance with the formal theory of rationality represented by modern decision theory — typically Bayesian decision theory (Pettit, 1993, 265). In this chapter we will attack the behavioral foundations of modern economics, primarily by an attack upon decision theory. Our aim in this chapter and the next is to show that the theory of “rational economic man” is untenable. We hope to show that orthodox economics is damaged at the most fundamental epistemological level.

Suggested Citation

  • Joseph Wayne Smith & Graham Lyons & Gary Sauer-Thompson, 1999. "The Bankruptcy of Economics," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: The Bankruptcy of Economics: Ecology, Economics and the Sustainability of the Earth, chapter 2, pages 15-53, Palgrave Macmillan.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palchp:978-1-349-27569-4_2
    DOI: 10.1007/978-1-349-27569-4_2
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    Cited by:

    1. Simone Landini & Mauro Gallegati & J. Barkley Rosser, 2020. "Consistency and incompleteness in general equilibrium theory," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 30(1), pages 205-230, January.
    2. Hayley Stevenson, 2008. "Creating a Climate of Convenience: Australia's Response to Global Climate Change (1996–2007)," Energy & Environment, , vol. 19(1), pages 3-20, January.
    3. Abeysuriya, Kumudini & Mitchell, Cynthia & White, Stuart, 2007. "Can corporate social responsibility resolve the sanitation question in developing Asian countries?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(1), pages 174-183, April.

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