Bastiat's missionthe nature, scope and value of crusoe economics

Resumen

This thesis examines the nature, scope and value of Crusoe economics in the inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations, inspired by Frédéric Bastiat's claim that what holds true for one man holds true for society at large. The conclusion is that Crusoe economics is a method of experimenting with thoughts that puts to systematic use our knowledge of human choice and action, known today in psychology and cognitive neuroscience as "theory of mind." A method of successive approximation, of beginning with the one-man economy, and then extending the analysis step-by-step to two, three and more actors, constitutes an extremely fruitful and universally applicable way of developing economic theory.