We're all psychopaths

[Mr Carcer]

I've been watching Adam Curtis's Freedom Trap. A considerable portion of the documentary argues that we are mistaken to hold the narrow view of humans as self-serving rational beings. Of particular amusement and interest to me was the a part of the documentary discussing game theory and the markets. In this section, the documentary speaks of the discipline of behavioural economics and the way their studies show that only two groups of people act in a rational self-interested way under experimental conditions economists and psychopaths.

[lpetrich]

That reminds me of someone who once stated "Don't get me started on libertarians. If capitalism was a religion, they'd be the fundamentalists!"

What you describe is quite correct about pro-capitalist ideologues, the sort who brag about how "economics" is on their side. It does have a theoretical simplicity, even if the real world does not fit it very well.

And pro-capitalist ideologues also have a rather Panglossian theodicy -- "the market" produces the best of all possible economic worlds.

[coloradoatheist]

It's because human emotion is also tied to reason so the experiment where you try and split a pot of money you are better off getting $.01 then nothing will be rejected on emotion.

Mike

[psikeyhackr]

If capitalism was a religion, they'd be the fundamentalists!"

What makes you think capitalism isn't a religion?

Not having everyone know accounting is just like the Catholic Church resisting having the Bible in modern languages. No one with any brains is even suggesting it. :devil1:

psik

[lpetrich]

And it must be said that many pro-capitalist ideologues treat business leaders as gods, describing how morally superior they supposedly are and what superior creativity they supposedly have and how they are exempt from normal moral rules. I've seen a lot of that here and in its predecessor PD and elsewhere.

[Mr Carcer]

If pro-capitalist in many way, but I don't think it's a panacea. I think there's a danger when any group decides that they've got all the right answers and I find it worrying when homo econimicus is taken as a fixed univeral model for all human behaviour and activity (inside and outside the market place).

[gargoyle]

That reminds me of someone who once stated "Don't get me started on libertarians. If capitalism was a religion, they'd be the fundamentalists!"

What you describe is quite correct about pro-capitalist ideologues, the sort who brag about how "economics" is on their side. It does have a theoretical simplicity, even if the real world does not fit it very well.

And pro-capitalist ideologues also have a rather Panglossian theodicy -- "the market" produces the best of all possible economic worlds.

It reminds me of the adherents to the ideology of the theory of divine monarchy. Their theoretical simplicity was terminated by the guillotine. Versailles certainly was the "best of all worlds" right up until it came crashing down around them. There is not enough cake to go around.