POL 2103 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Homo Economicus, Bayesian Probability, Neoliberalism

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Political Science
• Course: POL 2103
• Professor: Kevin Mc Millan

Document Summary

Weldt ulti(cid:373)atel(cid:455) esta(cid:271)lished this s(cid:272)hool of thought theoreti(cid:272)al alter(cid:374)ati(cid:448)e to n a(cid:374)d. Now major rival to neo-realism and neo-liberalism. Origi(cid:374)s: (cid:862)(cid:272)riti(cid:272)al i theor(cid:455)(cid:863) (cid:894)(cid:1005)(cid:1013)(cid:1012)(cid:1004)s(cid:895) period in which neo-realists and neo-liberals went head-to-head (cid:271)ut also dissatisfa(cid:272)tio(cid:374) of the t(cid:449)o theories: critique of epistemological and ontological assumptions (realist/neo- Realist & liberal/neo-liberal: dre(cid:449) o(cid:374) philosoph(cid:455), (cid:862)so(cid:272)ial theor(cid:455)(cid:863) Ontological assumptions of nr and nl (not constructivism!) Explanation of social sciences reduced to characteristics of individuals. Thart(cid:272)her: (cid:862)there is (cid:374)o su(cid:272)h thi(cid:374)g as so(cid:272)iet(cid:455)(cid:863) all we have is a group of individuals. The whole is the sum of all the parts. Action produced by: deliberate choices (conscious choices, maximizing self-interest, mathematically precise cost-benefit calculations, utility = value x probability. Irrelevant: emotions, culture, social norms, morals, faith, etc: actors know objective probabilities of events, or assign precise subjective probabilities to them. Each choice weighed vs. every other possible choice. Human behaviour, history driven by material/physical factors.