Arbeitspapier
The instability of preferences: Uncertain futures and the incommensurable and intersubjective nature of value(s)
The default assumption of standard economics is to treat preferences as exogenously 'given', consistent with one another, 'revealed' by past choices, and context independent. There has been increased interest recently (within behavioural economics) in the impact of inconsistent or irrational preferences and (more broadly) in dynamic and endogenous preferences. This paper builds on these challenges to standard assumptions by analysing the pivotal role of three aspects of preference formation in explaining capitalist dynamics and market instability. These are the constant creation of new preferences and the indeterminacy of choice sets in the context of widespread product innovation; the moral indeterminacy implied by conflicting and incommensurable social norms attaching to market goods where there is no single scale of value and hence no unique set of rational trade-offs; and, lastly, the contingent social and market construction of the product differentiation, quality attribution, and value assessments central to preference formation. The paper concludes by considering implications for economics as a discipline.
- Language
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Englisch
- Bibliographic citation
-
Series: MPIfG Discussion Paper ; No. 22/1
- Classification
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Sozialwissenschaften, Soziologie, Anthropologie
- Subject
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endogenous preferences
incommensurable values
preference cascades
preference formation
product differentiation
quality uncertainty
endogene Präferenzen
inkommensurable Werte
Präferenzbildung
Präferenzkaskaden
Produktdifferenzierung
Qualitätsunsicherheit
- Event
-
Geistige Schöpfung
- (who)
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Bronk, Richard
Beckert, Jens
- Event
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Veröffentlichung
- (who)
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Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
- (where)
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Cologne
- (when)
-
2022
- Handle
- Last update
-
10.03.2025, 11:41 AM CET
Data provider
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. If you have any questions about the object, please contact the data provider.
Object type
- Arbeitspapier
Associated
- Bronk, Richard
- Beckert, Jens
- Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
Time of origin
- 2022
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