THE UTILITARIAN FOUNDATIONS OF THE ECONOMIC APPROACH TO HUMAN BEHAVIOR.

The economic approach to the study of human behavior has been presented by its foremost representative as the most effective method of studying social phenomena. Gary Becker´s view supposes that, on the one hand, all social phenomena can be explained as a consequence of individual actions and, on the other, there is a stable pattern of individual behavior economics has been able to understand thoroughly. Hence, economics, according to this view, is no longer limited to the study of a certain domain of human actions or to the understanding of material wealth or the necessary conditions for the material reproduction of society. Economics is a method that gives the social scientist the necessary tools to understand and even transform the world that surrounds him/her. Becker clearly acknowledges the direct link between his approach and Jeremy Bentham´s theory. Beyond the apparent connections regarding their conception of human nature there is one central point that links the two authors: their view of economics as an attitude of the human mind, an inherent capacity to calculate that explains all human actions. This paper argues that Bentham provides the philosophical groundings for Becker´s theory. The application of the principle of utility to every aspect of human behavior justifies economic imperialism by transforming economics into a method of general analysis of human behavior. Indeed, economics is no longer defined according to its subject matter but according to its method, which means an increasing scope explaining Becker´s claim that the economic approach provides a rigorous framework for the analysis of all social phenomena.Gary Becker

Why Teach History of Economic Thought Today?

Shorter undergraduate studies, increasing specialization and the priority of applied research in Economics represent threats for the History of Economic Thought (HET) as an integral part of the training of young economists. There are mostly sociological arguments to reduce or eliminate HET courses and contents to which we try to respond in this text. We advance that HET allows developing valuable skills that might help overcome the criticisms against Economics due to its alleged incapacity to offer solutions in times of crisis and to its fascination with quantification and technique. In this context, HET appears as a space for thought, self-criticism and introspection in which new economists may understand that Economics is a process and not a product giving them the abilities necessary to participate in the extended present of their discipline.history of economic thought, teaching in economics, economic theory

Utilitarianism and Economic Behavior. Looking for Benthamite Traces

In spite of the use of a utilitarian language in Rational Choice Theory, economists do not acknowledge any link to this current of moral philosophy, and have made great efforts to rid economics from its legacy. In this document we aim at assessing these efforts retracing their history from Pareto to Samuelson in order to determine how close they came to their ideal of formulating a positive science rid of what they called any metaphysical traces.Utilitarianism, Rational Choice Theory, Axiom of Revealed Preferences

Out of sight, out of mind: Modern economics, social interactions, and Smith´s sympathy

After having reviewed some of the recent advances in Economics trying to incorporate new elements in our understanding of human interactions, we aim at contributing to this line of research using Adam Smith´s system of sympathy. The features Smithattributes to the intersubjective identification mechanism of sympathy lead not only to conceive the construction of a community but also the possibility of exclusion of some of its members. The asymmetry of sympathy allows explaining emulationof those seen as more fortunate as well as the exclusion of those perceived as miserable. Through a formal representation we try to illustrate the phenomena of inclusion and exclusion present in intersubjetive relations and the construction of communities.Keywords: Adam Smith, sympathy, emulation, exclusion.JEL Codes: B12, B31, D03.Adam Smith, sympathy, emulation, exclusion

Políticas públicas y acción colectiva. El legado de Albert O. Hirschman en tiempos de pandemia

Albert O. Hirschman invites us to take risks and assume possibilism as a way to social change. In this text, I explore this invitation coming from a self-subversive public intellectual, who built his point of view from the practical and theoretical lessons of the past to contribute to the public debate needed to face challenges and opportunities. Collective action is possible when citizens exercise their voice and embrace their responsibility to find temporal arrangements to solve distributive problems without renouncing to their differences, their own beliefs and expectations. The pandemic has brought to the light a standing problem in the region: inequality. We need collective action to overcome the apparent trade-off between health and economics in order to recover our right to decide and live lives worth living.Albert O. Hirschman nos invita a tomar riesgos y asumir el posibilismo como un camino hacia el cambio social. En este texto, abordo esa invitación de un intelectual público auto-subversivo que construye sobre las lecciones prácticas y teóricas del pasado para enfrentar las oportunidades y los retos desde el debate público. La acción colectiva no resulta de la homogeneización de creencias y expectativas sino, más bien, de la confianza en nuestra capacidad de encontrar arreglos temporales que resuelvan problemas y de la responsabilidad de cada ciudadano en el ejercicio de la voz. La pandemia revela de manera patente uno de los principales problemas de la región: la desigualdad. Depende de la acción colectiva superar el aparente dilema entre salud y economía para recuperar el espacio de los proyectos de vida

The risks of an economic agent: a Rousseauian reading of Adam Smith

This article is a critical review of Adam Smith's notion of an economic agent. Using Jean Jacques Rousseau's arguments, I show the shortcomings of Smith's hypothesisregarding individuals' economic behavior within market society. The morals of sympathy, understood as a social theory and beyond the limitations Smith himself acknowledges, attemp to present the economic agent as a natural and unthreatening figure restricted to market transactions. A careful reading of Rousseau shows the historical character of Smith's construction, and thereby its failure to recognise the influence of social, cultural and economic development on the formation of this economic agent. Rousseau refuses the possibility of constructing economic theory based on this agent and denounces it as a way of justifying irresponsibility and tyranny. Two possible paths in economics are thus open: economics as an independent field of action or economics as a field regulated by politics.Adam Smith

Tocqueville sobre la pobreza en las democracias industrializadas

En este texto exploro la visión de Tocqueville sobre la pobreza y el pauperismo en los tiempos democráticos. Su explicación de fenómenos económicos y sociales asociados al auge de la igualdad, muestra los difíciles dilemas que preveía con la consolidación de la democracia y la creciente industrialización. Nuevas clases sociales y un acceso desigual a la riqueza podrían generar un problema social que tarde o temprano amenazaría la libertad.Alexis de Tocqueville, pauperismo, industrialización, democracia.

“Out of sight, out of mind”: Social interactions and Smith's asymmetrical sympathy

Growing literature on Adam Smith’s system of sympathy has recovered an enriching view on our understanding of human interactions. Much attention has been placed on the construction of moral and social communities, the process of identification and recognition that Smith presents. But, the features Smith attributes to the intersubjective identifi-cation mechanism of sympathy can also lead to conceive of the possibility of exclusion of some members of a com-munity. The asymmetry of sympathy allows explaining emulation of those seen as more fortunate as well as the exclusion of those perceived as miserable. Through a formal representation we try to illustrate the phenomena of inclusion and exclusion present in intersubjective relations and the construction of communities.La creciente literatura sobre el sistema de la simpatía de Adam Smith ha permitido recuperar una visión enriquecedo-ra para nuestra comprensión de las interacciones sociales. La atención se ha concentrado en la construcción de comu-nidades morales y sociales y el proceso de identificación y reconocimiento. Un aspecto menos estudiado de las carac-terísticas que Smith adjudica a su mecanismo de identificación intersubjetiva también puede llevar a explorar la posibilidad de la exclusión de algunos miembros de la comunidad. La asimetría de la simpatía explica tanto la emula-ción de los más afortunados y la exclusión de los más miserables. A través de una representación formal, buscamos ilustrar los fenómenos de inclusión y exclusión presentes en las relaciones intersubjetivas y en la construcción de una comunidad

Jean-Jacques Rousseau y Karl Marx: estudio comparativo de dos críticas a la economía de mercado

Este trabajo hace una comparación de las teorías monetarias de dos grandes críticos de la economía de mercado: Rousseau y Marx. Muestra sus similitudes y divergencias; entre éstas la más importante es el lugar del análisis económico en sus proyectos intelectuales y políticos. Mientras que Marx fundó su crítica político-científica en el análisis económico, Rousseau pensaba que el análisis económico no podía ser la base para entender la organización social. Sus teorías monetarias pueden explicar esta divergencia