Markets against Modernity

In Markets Against Modernity, economist Ryan Murphy documents a clear continuity between the systematic errors people make in their personal lives and the gaps between public opinion and informed opinion. These errors cluster around specific divergences between how the modern world’s institutions function—including global markets, pluralistic democracy, and even science itself—and how evolution trained our brains to understand the nature of economic relationships, social relationships, and humanity’s relationship to the physical world. Murphy calls these systematic divergences Ecological Irrationality. Exploring them leads him to even more prickly questions—and to conclusions that may challenge the beliefs of those who understand that, for instance, modern vaccines are safe and effective. Do we actually want a less cohesive society? Is doing a task yourself financially prudent? And if we recognize an expert consensus, is there even a way to implement it and achieve the desired effects?

One of my favorite sections discussed social capital. . . . Even where you disagree you’ll be forced to think. . . . I am persuaded by much of what he has to say, and found lots of interesting ideas on topics that I had never really even thought about. I recommend it to people who enjoy exploring interesting new ideas in the social sciences, the sort of people who read the bloggers from George Mason’s economics department. Also recommended for people sympathetic to the “rationalist” movement. Murphy is a very creative economist who has studied a wide range of issues., If we wish to understand what influences the market, it is crucial that we understand what influences the individual. Murphy has both contributed to this understanding and shown there is much work to be done in the investigation of ecological irrationalities, or the clash between modern institutions and the influence of prehistoric habits on our minds. Students and economic professionals alike should take careful note of this book. . . the tools and examples that Murphy presents are immensely useful in improving one’s understanding of the hidden forces that guide popular thought in the modern world., The book is full of delightful gems of historical insight as well as appreciable humor drawing on the author’s experience. One easily imagines Cosmopolitan Conner and Bro Brad at a bar with Murphy, each being told to moderate their particular biases. Murphy’s prose is quite enjoyable to read. He has a command of a wide variety of ideas, and his presentation of them is so clear that you will know precisely where you stand with regard to their veracity., “Ryan Murphy is one of our most creative and contrarian young political economists. Markets against Modernity: Ecological Irrationality, Public and Private will make you ponder questions you didn’t know existed.”, “Ryan Murphy has written a book that is both humorous and quite thought-provoking, discussing the many ways that our mental biases lead us to make seemingly irrational lifestyle choices. Murphy shines a spotlight on many areas of consumer behavior that are often overlooked by economists, such as ‘buy local’, ‘do-it-yourself’, and ‘natural' products. My favorite parts of the book offer contrarian perspectives on issues that we might have assumed we already understood, such as conspicuous consumption and social capital. This book will appeal to readers who enjoyed Bryan Caplan's The Myth of the Rational Voter and Simler and Hanson's The Elephant in the Brain.”

Ryan H. Murphy is senior research fellow at the O’Neil Center for Global Markets and Freedom at Southern Methodist University.