The Evolution of the Economic Man. From Homo Oeconomicus to Homo Moralis

Aneta Kargol-Wasiluk, Anna Wildowicz-Giegiel and Marian Zalesko

Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, 2018, issue 1, 33-57

Abstract: This article traces the development of the concept of homo oeconomicus, a fundamental principle of mainstream economics. The concept is compared against alternative approaches proposed by representatives of other schools of thought such as heterodox economics, behavioural economics and neuroeconomics. Special attention is paid to the Resourceful, Evaluative, Maximising Man (REMM) model, which seems to be a missing link between homo oeconomicus and homo moralis. It is simultaneously assumed that the narrow interpretation of homo oeconomicus as a being solely guided by self-interest is oversimplified and that this kind of paradigm may be harmful to society in the real world. The article was written on the basis of a content analysis of literature. For the purposes of the research, both descriptive and interdisciplinary methods were employed. As a result of the conducted analysis, a conclusion was drawn that the explanation of economic behaviours requires a more holistic and dynamic approach. The incompleteness and inadequacy of the paradigm of homo oeconomicus were highlighted. It was noted that the rationality of the economic man results not only from concern for self-interest but also from his embeddedness in society and culture. The study showed that economic behaviour is context-dependent and additionally determined by morality derived from social and religious systems. In conclusion, it was emphasised that the economic man cannot be reduced to a machine concentrating on his own material well-being. The morality of an individual making choices in a world of scarcity is inevitably subject to assessment.

Keywords: homo oeconomicus; homo moralis; egoism; self-interest; morality; REMM model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A10 B10 B20 B31 B50 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.journalssystem.com/gna/pdf-100566-32408 Full text (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sgh:gosnar:y:2018:i:1:p:33-57

Access Statistics for this article

Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics is currently edited by Marek Gruszczyński, Grzegorz Konat

More articles in Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics from Warsaw School of Economics Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Grzegorz Konat ().