ABSTRACT
Imagine that some extra-terrestrials got hold of an economics textbook and used it in order to work out what we humans are like prior to paying us a visit. What would they come to expect? Neoclassical economic theory presents a model of men and women as cool, fastidious agents who get what they want and want what they get. As creatures ruled by something they call self-interest which they pursue via the meticulous application of their scarce means. And if these extraterrestrials can read in between the textbook’s lines, they will also know that this thing called self-interest is not the same as its nastier cousin selfishness. However, they will not be reassured fully by this. The only promise the textbook makes is that we can be counted on to be efficient in matching our means to our ends. Whether our ends are charitable or homicidal, the textbook does not say.
