CONCEPTUAL FUNDAMENTALS OF FORMATION OF THE CONCEPT OF ECONOMIC MAN: EVOLUTION OF DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

The article considers the evolution of the formation of approaches to defining the essence of man in the economy. The theoretical foundations of the concept of «economic man» are described and its correspondence to modern processes is shown. The perception of the «economic man» model in economic discourse is analyzed. A comparative analysis of the views of different economic schools on the place and role of man in the economy makes it possible to argue that the analysis of models of economic man has not yet stood out in an independent area of research in world economics. In the framework of rather infrequent attempts in the literature to comprehensively analyze the theoretical and methodological problems associated with the economic person, there is not yet a clear definite definition. Some identify the economic person as «a rational individual who has stable advantages and seeks to maximize their own benefits in terms of complete information, freedom of choice and quality evaluation of alternatives». Others believe that «economic man is a metaphorical or figurative concept that means a prerequisite for a hypothetical-deductive system of economic theory». There is also the opinion that the economic person is characterized by goals based on self-interest and rational choice of means, but the rationality of the economic person does not extend to the choice of goals themselves. It is purely instrumental in nature and is associated exclusively with the choice of optimal means of self-interest, which is equivalent to maximizing the individual objective function. The models of the economic person formulated above have developed in the course of more than two centuries of evolution of economic science. During this time, some features of the economic man, previously considered basic, have disappeared as optional. These signs include the inevitable selfishness, completeness of information, instant reaction. Entrepreneurial abilities have been added to the main features, where an economic person can work to satisfy his own needs constantly, or become the driving force of this process and then simply control this process, thus satisfying all his needs.