Journal of Economic Psychology 9 (1988) 533-551

North-Holland

533

BOOK REVIEWS

Amitai Etzioni, The Moral Dimension: Toward a New Economics. The Free Press, New York, 1988. pp. xvi + 314, $24.95.

In the Moral Dimension Amitai Etzioni shows again his ability to assimilate ideas from different disciplines and explain ideas and con- cepts in a popular yet scholarly fashion. Recent books, written as

economic psychology texts, have rarely dedicated more than a chapter or two to the comprehensive evaluation of epistemological arguments and theory development. The reason for this is that these economic psychology texts follow the tradition in experimental psychology. _ _

chapter after chapter is dedicated to the detailed reproduction and comparison of empirical studies. And it is here that the main strength

and weakness of Etzioni’s book run side by side: the author constructs his arguments beautifully but we are left without the details of the cited studies and guidance about how to conduct empirical research based on his ideas. Professor Etzioni is aware of this criticism of course and admits that he leaves such things to others, nevertheless what he has produced is a considerable achievement.

Much of the content of the book is familiar terrain to economic psychologists. There are criticisms of utility theory as unethical, unre- alistic, tautological and undifferentiating. Evidence is provided for unselfish behaviour, the impact of cognitive limitations in making choices, and rational choice as ‘antientropic’ and in no sense the natural way people go about their business.

Other ideas are less familiar and important issues for economic psychologists to address, and these are discussed next.

A criticism of economic psychology (although Etzioni does not make such a criticism directly) is that it is too ‘individualistic’. There is a danger that economic psychology will simply be replacing homo economicus with homo psychologicus. In contemporary social psy- chology some analysis is beyond that of the individual in the study of social groups and so forth, but rarely does the analysis ascent to the level of society, or discuss social determinism as a sociologist would.

0167.4870/88/$3.50 0 1988, Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. (North-Holland)

534 Book reviews

Also too rare is the proper evaluation of political factors and power relations in choice and exchange. Etzioni’s is a socio-economics which employs a sociological and political perspective as well as a psychologi- cal one. Following from this the author argues for the middle ground and the ‘I and We’: the individual can influence society through the choices that are made, but these are dependent on the influences of society.. . the market moulds preferences as well as being responsive to them. This theme of codetermination is linked to a notion of bi-utility: people are driven not only by selfishness but also by moral commit- ments and ideas of what is fair and reasonable behaviour. The individ- ual is concerned not only with his own fate but also with collective responsibilities. Socio-economics involves the investigation of the in- fluence of governments, institutions, large organisations and economic elites. It is suggested that a mixed economy would soon break down if such factors were not influential and naked individual maximisation ran riot.

This is a book I will keep close to my desk and refer to often, it is packed with ideas eloquently expressed. There is insufficient space here to do more that offer a taste of the meal. This is a book of importance not only for researchers, but also for undergraduates interested in the integration of ideas in social science, the last few pages present an extremely helpful overview and propositional inventory (it is also one of the few books where the dust cover accurately summarizes what is really in it). If something new is to happen in economics (i.e., the emergence of a more behavioural, social, psychological economics) because of its wide appeal, this book will rank high among those providing the necessary momentum for change.

Alan Lewis Centre for Economic Psychology

School of Social Sciences University of Bath

Bath BA2 7AY, UK

J.L. Ford, Economic Choice under Uncertainty: A Perspective Theory Approach. Edward Elgar, Aldershot, 1987, pp. xi + 146, E25.00.

For every mainstream school of thought there are a number of more turbulent tributaries, which from time to time provide the fresh waters