Economía

The question Jon Elster addresses in this challenging new book is what binds societies together and prevents them from disintegrating into chaos and war. He analyzes two concepts of social order: stable, predictable patterns of behavior and cooperative behavior. The book examines various aspects of collective action and bargaining from the perspective of rational-choice theory and the theory of social norms. A fundamental assumption of the book is that social norms provide an important kind of motivation for irrational (non rational) action. The book represents a major new statement by Elster that will be of particular interest to political scientists, political philosophers, sociologists, and economists.