HISTORY, NECESSITY, AND RATIONAL CHOICE THEORY

Greg Hill

Rationality and Society, 1997, vol. 9, issue 2, 189-213

Abstract: The main body of rational-choice literature aims to deduce the necessary consequences that result from the interaction of rational agents. In contrast, this paper shows how small accidents of history can determine the character of social life among even perfectly rational decision makers. The paper describes those circumstances in which the structure of interaction is determinant, so that random events are averaged away, and those circumstances in which chance events leave a permanent mark on the collective life of rational beings.

Keywords: chaos; complexity; cooperation; history; rational (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1997
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:ratsoc:v:9:y:1997:i:2:p:189-213

DOI: 10.1177/104346397009002003

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