Economists Wonder

[dukealien]

Economists Wonder


Economists have long observed
that homo economicus
spends more on things he buys as gifts
than on like goods bought for himself.
Some claim it’s self-aggrandizement:
a Big Man’s potlatch showing he
can throw away things better than
his guests could ever hope to have.
But that’s economists, who can’t
conceive their calculating man
would place a higher value on
another’s pleasure than his own.


(Inspired by, and on, Christmas.  Now to respond to some critics, Boxing Day being past...)

[billy]

love homo economicus, it sounds like a book of spells

[dukealien]

love homo economicus, it sounds like a book of spells

Actually a semi-legit, semi-derisive term for the value-maximizing mechanical homunculi on which economic models are based.
So, yeah, what you said.