Economics is built upon preferences. It’s the science of choosing. What determines preferences? Well, theoretically, the economically classical, rational being — or homo economicus — looks at its choices, and acts in order to maximize “expected utility,” (or, roughly, lifetime happiness). Because people are impatient and want stuff now, this happiness is weighted in order to discount the future choice in comparison … Continue reading The Pursuit of Sadness
I recently read James Douglas’s thoughtful but problematic article concerning his “Pixar Theory of Labor,” which submits that an important common thematic thread throughout Pixar’s movies is the belief that “to live is to work is to live.” This got me thinking about A. O. Scott’s insightful review of Toy Story 3, which has somehow lodged itself within my brain for the … Continue reading The Pixar Theory of Consumption
Caspar David Friedrich’s Wanderer above the Sea of Fog is an essential of Romantic oil painting. Depicted from behind the summit of an immense cliff, the titular wanderer gazes upon an obscured landscape. Though he strikes a triumphant poise, the impression left upon the viewer is that of the insignificance of the individual within the scope of this epic, twisted … Continue reading Introduction
Humanist Capital 