Morally atomistic markets may be achievable only in silicon, not in humans
Evidence
One should not posit an unchanging human essence: morally atomistic markets are conceivable. We are not, however, convinced that any actually exist, and it is possible that if they are to be created it may need to be in silicon, perhaps as autonomous software agents or as more mundane algorithms, not out of flesh and blood. But such agents or algorithms might well not (Mirowski 2002 argues they could not) simulate the cognitive capacities of homo œconomicus as conceived by orthodox modern economics. — Donald MacKenzie & Yuval Millo, Constructing a Market, Performing Theory, 205
Categorization
- XREF: Connects to Mirowski on machine economics and to ongoing HFT/algorithmic-markets debates the reader tracks in financialization scholarship. — connects to: Purely atomistic economic actors may only exist as software, not humans. — Donald MacKenzie & Yuval Millo, Constructing a Market, Performing Theory, 205
- FICTION: Seed for speculating about algorithmic agents that are entirely amoral yet fail to replicate human cognitive framing — rich territory for a story about a truly ‘disembedded’ market.
Related
- Purely atomistic economic actors may only exist as software, not humans. (similarity 0.93)
- Market actors are calculative without becoming amoral atomistic egotists (similarity 0.82)
- Markets can be performatively constructed by agents who are not atomistic homo economicus (similarity 0.79)
Broader Connections
- Purely atomistic economic actors may only exist as software, not humans.
#corroborates(1.00) — Donald MacKenzie & Yuval Millo, Constructing a Market, Performing Theory, 205