Challenging the Egoistic Paradigm
本文区分了各种利己主义主张，引用实证文献反驳心理利己主义，指出利己主义假设会导致学生更自私，并推荐罗伯特·弗兰克的承诺模型作为替代，认为企业追求利润最大化可能失败，而利他主义更可能提高利润。
Most economists are committed to some version of egoism. After distinguishing among the various sorts of egoistic claims, I cite the empirical literature against psychological egoism and show that attempts to account for this data make these economists’ previous empirical claims tautological. Moreover, the assumption of egoism has undesirable consequences, especially for students; if people believe that others behave egoistically, they are more likely to behave egoistically themselves. As an alternative to egoism I recommend the commitment model of Robert Frank. The equivalent of egoism at the organizational level is that business firms seek (should seek) to maximize profits. I present arguments to show that a conscious attempt by managers to maximize profits is likely to fail. A committed altruism is more likely to raise profits. I suggest that a firm should take as its primary purpose providing meaningful work for employees.