Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Economism

The ongoing expansion in housing units square footage per person and acres per housing unit is usually justified using the 'Economistic' idea that humans are rational self-interest maximizers, capable of gauging the marginal value of an additional increment. In reality, humans are not rational optimizers, but rational satisficers and irrational maximizers. People make decisions on the basis of meeting perceived needs. Once those perceived needs are met, they act to maximize any offered considerations, regardless of their desirability.