Artwork

Content provided by Civic Ventures. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Civic Ventures or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://ppacc.player.fm/legal.
Player FM - Podcast App
Go offline with the Player FM app!

Back to Basics Series: Homo Economicus Must Die (with Samuel Bowles)

32:34
 
Share
 

Manage episode 503892179 series 2468847
Content provided by Civic Ventures. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Civic Ventures or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://ppacc.player.fm/legal.

What if the relentless drive to maximize personal gain isn't human nature, but just a flawed model we built? In this Back-to-Basics episode, behavioral economist Samuel Bowles helps us lay homo economicus—the myth of the perfectly rational, self-interested actor—six feet under. He shows how this caricature not only misrepresents human behavior, but underpins an economic system that ignores cooperation, community, and ethics. If we're hoping to reclaim our society from greed-driven oligarchs and neoliberal policy, we need a better model—which starts with recognizing that humans are more than economic robots.

Samuel Bowles is an economist and Professor Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, currently serving as Research Professor and Director of the Behavioral Sciences Program at the Santa Fe Institute. He is also the author of The Moral Economy: Why Good Incentives Are No Substitute for Good Citizens.

This episode originally aired May 7, 2019.

Further reading:

The Moral Economy: Why Good Incentives Are No Substitute for Good Citizens

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Threads: pitchforkeconomics

Bluesky: @pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social

TikTok: @pitchfork_econ

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon, @NickHanauer, @civicaction

YouTube: @pitchforkeconomics

LinkedIn: Pitchfork Economics

Substack: The Pitch

  continue reading

400 episodes

Artwork
iconShare
 
Manage episode 503892179 series 2468847
Content provided by Civic Ventures. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Civic Ventures or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://ppacc.player.fm/legal.

What if the relentless drive to maximize personal gain isn't human nature, but just a flawed model we built? In this Back-to-Basics episode, behavioral economist Samuel Bowles helps us lay homo economicus—the myth of the perfectly rational, self-interested actor—six feet under. He shows how this caricature not only misrepresents human behavior, but underpins an economic system that ignores cooperation, community, and ethics. If we're hoping to reclaim our society from greed-driven oligarchs and neoliberal policy, we need a better model—which starts with recognizing that humans are more than economic robots.

Samuel Bowles is an economist and Professor Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, currently serving as Research Professor and Director of the Behavioral Sciences Program at the Santa Fe Institute. He is also the author of The Moral Economy: Why Good Incentives Are No Substitute for Good Citizens.

This episode originally aired May 7, 2019.

Further reading:

The Moral Economy: Why Good Incentives Are No Substitute for Good Citizens

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Threads: pitchforkeconomics

Bluesky: @pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social

TikTok: @pitchfork_econ

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon, @NickHanauer, @civicaction

YouTube: @pitchforkeconomics

LinkedIn: Pitchfork Economics

Substack: The Pitch

  continue reading

400 episodes

All episodes

×
 
Loading …

Welcome to Player FM!

Player FM is scanning the web for high-quality podcasts for you to enjoy right now. It's the best podcast app and works on Android, iPhone, and the web. Signup to sync subscriptions across devices.

 

Quick Reference Guide

Copyright 2025 | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | | Copyright
Listen to this show while you explore
Play