X-Message-Number: 30763
From: David Stodolsky <>
Subject: Goodbye 'economic man' (was: Re: the case for increased brocc...
Date: Sun, 25 May 2008 13:44:52 +0200
References: <>

On 24 May 2008, at 19:30,  wrote:

>  [Doctors recommend greater fruit and vegetable intake to reduce  
> disease
> risk, while their patients routinely disregard this recommendation.  
> It is
> apparent that only so much produce is going to be consumed no matter  
> what
> doctors say. Perhaps a more practical recommendation might be to  
> consume
> more of certain specific health promoting fruits and vegetables, and  
> less of
> other fruits and vegetables would do not possess health promoting
> attributes.

Social policy in the US has led to 'food deserts', where most  
vegetables are not readily available. While this primarily effects the  
poor, a change in policy would likely lead to a dramatic changes in  
overall morbidity and mortality, measured on a population wide basis.  
So would a change in economic policy, which has led to widespread  
starvation, both within the US and worldwide. This policy is based on  
an outdated model of 'economic man', a man motivated only by self  
interest:



<http://www.in-mind.org/social-psychology-headlines/not-all-decisions-are-in-the-pursuit-of-self-int.html
 >

Not All Decisions Are In the Pursuit of Self Interest


This evidence now includes brain scans, which identify the structures  
responsible for group-oriented rewards.

<http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2008/508/1?rss=1>

Your Brain on Ethics


So, neo-liberalism, libertarianism, objectivism, and other systems of  
thought based upon selfishness as the only human motive can now be  
dismissed for what they are: propaganda.


dss


David Stodolsky    Skype: davidstodolsky

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=30763