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Article: Homo Economicus meets G. H. Mead: a contribution to the critique of economic theory.(Homo Economicus)(Report)
- Article from:
- The American Journal of Economics and Sociology
- Article date:
- April 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Blackwell Publishers Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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I
Introduction
WHAT IS IT THAT MAKES the human act distinctive? For the economist, it is our capacity to deliberate. "A spider," Marx writes, "conducts operations that resemble those of a weaver, and a bee puts to shame many an architect in the construction of her cells. But what distinguishes the worst architect from the best of bees is this, that the architect raises his structure in imagination before he erects it in reality" (Marx [1867] 1974: 174). It is this that makes his or her act "exclusively human" (Marx [1867] 1974: 174). Though we suspect that neither author would be flattered by the comparison, it is striking how closely Marx's ...