Markets themselves can only be created by people who act against narrow self-interest

Evidence

As Olson (1980) famously argued, collective action cannot satisfactorily be explained simply by the fact that it was in the collective interest of all those involved, in this case the memberships of the Board of Trade and the Merc. All their members benefited, even those who stood aside from it entirely. In such a situation, rational egoists the individuals posited in much of orthodox economic theory will free ride, leaving it to others to bear the costs of collective action, which will therefore not take place, even if it would foster the interests of all involved. Hence the possibility of a delightful paradox: the very markets in which Homo economicus, the rational egoist, appears to thrive cannot be created (if they require the solution of collective action problems, as in Chicago) by Homines economici. — Donald MacKenzie, An Engine, Not a Camera, 673

Categorization

• XREF: Directly connects to Olson’s logic of collective action and the free-rider problem; also resonates with the book’s overall performativity thesis that markets are constructed by pre-market social action. — connects to: Pure rational self-interest cannot explain founding a derivatives exchange; Markets can be performatively constructed by agents who are not atomistic homo economicus — Donald MacKenzie & Yuval Millo, Constructing a Market, Performing Theory, 25; Narrow self-interest does not necessarily yield efficient exchange. — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 2626 (+2 more)
• DEEPTHINKING: The paradox that the same rational-choice assumptions used to model markets cannot explain the creation of the markets themselves is a crystallizing insight, dense enough to repay extended reflection.

Broader Connections

• Markets can be performatively constructed by agents who are not atomistic homo economicus #corroborates (0.90) — Donald MacKenzie & Yuval Millo, Constructing a Market, Performing Theory, 25
• Narrow self-interest does not necessarily yield efficient exchange. #qualifies (0.72) — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 2626
• Narrow self-interest does not automatically produce efficient exchange #corroborates (0.72)