Economic man and selfish genes: the implications of group selection for economic valuation and policy |
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| Institution: | 1. UMR 7266 LIENSs CNRS-Université de La Rochelle, Institut du Littoral et de l’Environnement, 2 rue Olympe de Gouges, 17000 La Rochelle, France;2. UMR 6554 GEOMER CNRS-LETG, Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer, Place Nicolas Copernic, 29280 Plouzané, France;1. Department of Marine Science, Coastal Carolina University, Conway, SC 29526, United States;2. Baruch Marine Field Laboratory, University of South Carolina, Georgetown, SC 29442, United States;3. Marine Science Program, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, United States |
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| Abstract: | A basic tenet of socio-economics is that economic behavior is shaped by social bonds and cultural context. A relevant controversy in evolutionary biology is group selection and the related issue of altruistic behavior, that is, behavior neutral or detrimental to the individual but positive for the survival of the group. In this paper we examine the parallel controversies surrounding “economic man” and “selfish genes” with particular emphasis on the policy implications of group selection. We argue for the replacement of standard welfare economics with models of human behavior in the spirit of “consilience” between economic theory and the best available science from other relevant disciplines. |
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