- 著者
-
佐々木 憲介
- 出版者
- The Japanese Society for the History of Economic Thought
- 雑誌
- 経済学史学会年報 (ISSN:04534786)
- 巻号頁・発行日
- vol.41, no.41, pp.71-79, 2002 (Released:2010-08-05)
- 参考文献数
- 49
It is probably W. Bagehot who coined the term ‘economic man’. As is commonly acknowledged, however, ‘economic man’ played a substantial role in classical political economy long before the term was coined. This survey examines the literature treating the classical economic man from three aspects: motives and rationality, historical characteristics, and epistemological foundations. (1) The classical economic man was characterized by several motives and rationality. The motives included self-interest and the desire for wealth. Rationality indicated that economic man attempted to obtain additional wealth with as little sacrifice as possible. The motives, however, were deleted from the concept of neo-classical economic man set out in the 1930s, and rationality came to be considered as the essence of the notion. (2) Interpretations on the historical characteristics of economic man differ. Some regard the classical economic man as a real agent who appeared in a particular area and period. Others insist that the economic man is an abstract or hypothetical man, the features of which indicates a universal tendency applicable to all economic situations, although the realization of tendency is more or less interfered with by disturbing forces. The relations between society and the individual are another issue. The economic man is said to be based on methodological individualism, but the classical concept does not ignore the influence of society upon individual. (3) Classical methodologists such as N. W. Senior, J. S. Mill, and J. E. Cairns thought that the motives and rationality of economic man could be clarified through the processes of reflection and analogy. Senior, however, realized a defect in this method. Adam Smith suggested an interesting method by which to test the results of reflection and analogy. If the concept of economic man is accepted, it can be considered to stand as a true assumption of economic action.