No woman (or man) is an island in the economy

Ross Gittins realises that No woman (or man) is an island in the economy. The intrusion of other fields into the dismal science of economics has some far-reaching effects. Mr. Gittins reviews the effects of sociology on economices. For starters, the

...economists' focus is on the individual, whereas economic sociologists' focus is on groups, institutions and society. Believe it or not, economists' analysis generally proceeds on the assumption that individual "actors" aren't connected to one another.

In the Capitalist economic model, we are all free to make choices that maximises the benefit to us. This is a rational choice that is made without reference to the rest of the world. You may suffer as a consequence of my actions, but the primary concern is the benefit to me. How much of this self-interest becomes selfishness depends on the power relationship (see below). Thus, economists see rational behaviour as a constant, whereas

Sociologists, however, regard rational behaviour as a variable. Sometimes we make decisions on a rational basis; other times - most of the time - we're influenced by tradition (habits, rules of thumb, communal loyalties, or sacred values).

On the other hand, evolutionary economists when they study How Animals Do Business, they see reciprocal behaviour as the main movitator for interactions between individuals. We are not maximising benefits to ourselves but ensuring fair play for everyone.

Sociologists tend to give a lot of attention to the role of power in economic relations. By contrast, economists tend to regard economic action as an exchange among equals. Which means that when power relationships are highly unequal, such as between a boss and an individual worker, standard economic analysis will give the wrong answer (without most economists realising it).

So much for the AWAs. Capitalist propaganda via traditional economics puts forward the notion that we are all equal when it comes to contract negotiations.

What's more, a person's position in the social structure conditions his economic choices and activity. Structural constraints influence decisions people make about their careers in ways that conflict with simple considerations of economic gain.

In other words, your class determines your economic choices. A bourgeoise has more choices than a petite bourgeiose than a labour aristocrat than a labourer than a lumpenproletariat than an unemployed person. Furthermore, your class largely determines what your self-interests are.