Or so they seem to think. See, for example, a new book Dollars and Sex: How Economics Influences Sex and Love, by Marina Adshade:
There’s a marketplace for sex and love, and you’re in it. In Dollars and Sex, economist Marina Adshade converts economic theory into a sexy science by applying the principles of supply and demand and other market forces to matters of love and libido. As she does in her hugely popular blog of the same name, Adshade unlocks the mysteries behind our actions, thoughts, and preferences using engaging research, economic analysis, and humor. The end result is a fascinating look at just how central the interplay of libido, gender, love, power, and economic forces is to the most important choices we make in our lives. Ultimately she shows that every option, every decision, and every outcome in matters of sex and love is better understood through economics.
Hat tip to Robert H. Frank writing about the book at the NYT.
Categories: Dating, Mating, Hooking Up, Marriage and Money
If by “soothsayers” you mean “prognosticators given to offering advice that may or may not be worth the paper on which it’s printed”, certainly.
Any professor who says that every human interaction can be precisely understood through the lens of (the thing they teach) is enthusiastically waving a hammer and insisting that people are all nails.
Very nicely said!
I agree with mythago.
And the idea that it is all economics seems to Mr to ignore all the recent research showing that we respond to unconscious chemical cues like antigens in someones kiss.
Me not Mr. Good night.
Economics does not conceive of itself as the response to the desire for dollars, but the science of tradeoffs. –including the repsonse to psychic income.
It has a lot of insights, although like all disciplines it also narrows the mind.