Question

12. what is Anti-economic man and where does it come from

Answer 1

Economic man refers to an idealized human being who acts rationally and with complete knowledge, who seeks to maximize personal utility or satisfaction. Economic man is an assumption of many economic models and is also known as homo economicus.

Economists assume that the Economic Man will act in the most rational way possible in order to maximize his utility. Sometimes called Homo economicus, there is no reason in the world that your ideal economic human can't be a woman - it's just that this idea goes back before the idea of gender equality. What Can the Man Do? But what does the Economic Man do? In short, he acts rationally in a given economy. By 'rationally,' I mean with regards to economic norms, not social ones. Make no doubt about it, the Economic Man is selfish and always is out for himself first. When acting as a producer, he seeks to maximize profits.

However, where the Economic Man really shines is as a consumer. It is through the Economic Man that economists are able to figure out with some degree of certainty more information about that crucial economic concept of utility. After all, Economic Man can consume anything that someone in society would want to consume.

Generally, homo economicus attempts to maximize utility as a consumer and profit as a producer. As a theory on human conduct, it contrasts to the concepts of behavioral economics, which examines cognitive biases and other irrationalities, and another mythical species, homo reciprocans, a model which emphasizes human cooperation). In game theory, homo economicus is often modeled through the assumption of perfect rationality. The notion of "homo economicus" is often used by non-economists to critique an economic approach. There are distinct concepts involved: the preferences that individuals have among outcomes; and the processes that individuals use to make decisions. The question of whether individuals are in fact able to make the best choices, given their preferences, leads to the economic definition of rationality, or the so-called "rational economic man". This concept of rationality does not restrict what sort of preferences are admissible.