The Three-stage Theory Of The Evolution Of The "economic Man" Hypothesis

The academic community's discussion of the "economic man" hypothesis has been a hot topic.This concept has always been used as the "starting point" of economic theory and integrated into its own paradigm research,but the core research on the "quasi-psychological" tradition behind the concept has not been expanded.Therefore,the current abuse of the "economic man" hypothesis is not only a partial interpretation of the exploration work done by early and classical scholars,but also a limited view of the behavioral presupposition and method selection of economic subject caused by this concept.This paper takes the retreat and return of the "quasi-psychological factors" in the field of economics such as humanity,psychology and morality as the main line,and combs the evolution history of the "economic man" hypothesis,dialectically analyzes the relationship between economics and psychology,ethics.We point out that this analytical perspective and way of thinking are important for constructing the theoretical framework of behavioral political economy.According to the logical approach of "presentation-application","application-development" and "development-criticism",this paper divides the evolution of the "economic man" hypothesis into three stages in economic theory.The first stage is the classical period of "presentation-application" of the "economic man" hypothesis.In fact,this period includes two branches,namely,the "qualitative" study of the analysis of economic phenomena and the psychological factors,and the "quantitative" study of simplifying the human internals by the abstract method.By comparing the thoughts of scholars before the marginal revolution,it is found the moral ethics of economic subjects and their economic pursuits are highly integrated in this process.Under the influence of Ricardo's methodology,the essence of "economic man" is a kind of degeneration of "social man." The second stage is the neo-classical period of "application-development" of the "economic man" hypothesis.After the marginal revolution reinvented the assumptions and methodology of classical political economy,the "economic man" has been used as a core hypothesis embedded in subjective psychoanalysis and mathematical analysis under general equilibrium.Under the constraints of the scarcity of resources in the neoclassical framework,the "economic man" has become a "pure economic man" with the goal of maximizing profit.The "economic imperialism" that emerged on this basis not only strictly inherits the core assumptions and ideas of neoclassicalism,but also is a "subversive" of economics in some sense.The third stage is the modern period of "development-criticism" of the "economic man" hypothesis.The irrational behavior of the economic subject with full rationality leads to the rethinking and positioning of economic theory hypothesis.The critique of the full rational hypothesis leads to the emergence of non-mainstream economic theory.It points out that mainstream theory cannot explain the economic subject in the real society.It points out that mainstream theory cannot explain the psychological activities and social behaviors of economic subjects in real society,and tries to reconstruct the premise of economics with the idea of "bounded rationality." Although this approach has impacted the traditional "economic man" hypothesis to some extent,there are still limitations in the integrity of the system construction and the choice of methodology.In this staged evolution,it is accompanied by the lack and return of "quasi-psychological factors" such as humanity,morality and rationality that cannot be accurately analyzed,which has also led to the diversification of economic research content and methodology.This paper attempts to provide a historical support for the "re-psychologicalization" of economics,let it return to the stage of "thinking problems" and realize the "criticism-redevelopment" of economic theory,which requires the return of "quasi-psychological factors" in the economic perspective.In addition,from the perspective of economic research content,assumptions and methodologies,the rationality of the existence of "Behavioral Political Economics" is prospected.