Self Interest, Rationality and the Neoliberal Illusion

Andrea Boitani

Rivista Internazionale di Scienze Sociali, 2023, vol. 131, issue 2, 253-272

Abstract: The writing of this paper is occasioned by the very critical comments of Giacomo Costa (2022) regarding my book L’illusione liberista. However, the paper is not meant to be a general reply to Costa’s remarks. It rather represents an attempt to go deeper into issues that I regard as foundational for contemporary economics and politics alike: the invisible hand theorem and the transformation from a market economy to a market society; the unpleasantness of homo economicus; the (unnecessary) link between self-interest and rationality; the negative effects of the generational egoism that underlies the neoliberal approach on climate change; the contrast between homo economicus, homo cooperans and homo moralis; the difficult coexistence of markets and incentives with goods that should not have a price.

Keywords: Neoliberalism; Invisible hand; Rationality; Market failures; Cooperation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A11 A13 B40 D01 D41 D50 D90 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:vep:journl:y:2023:v:131:i:2:p:253-272

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