The question with which this piece starts is at the heart of understanding the future solutions to many questions of a probable dystopic future world. While Economics or Economists look for a rationale of an economic incentive or action deciding an individual behaviour, often such behaviour can infringe upon the collective common good or goal. Hence, the new paradigm of finding out solutions to many questions of a dystopic future world is lying at the core of developing a new lens. The new lens might not always be a theoretical, dogmatic foundation principle of micro, macro, development, mathematical economics. Rather, this new lens can actually emerge from a complex disciplinary thinking of an economic problem for addressing a common good for future. The course of such a thinking can be enmeshed or be a maze of reflection of various disciplinary thoughts arising from a wide range of critical thinking. However, in this piece, I will largely put forward a conjecture of understanding the recourse of Economics for a Common Good of a Future Dystopic World from a particular lens. That lense according to me is called a - "Psycho-Analytic" Lens. While, Jean Tirole in his book - "Economics for The Common Good" charts out a new recourse of Economics for a Common Good from the perspective of information or information theory, I will seek answers from a - "Psycho-Analytic" lens.
Information theory of Economics tells and explains to us how inadequate, asymmetric, complete, incomplete, perfect and imperfect information finally leads to certain kinds of decisions. Those decisions decide how agents, consumers, government, regulators, and producers' function in an economy. Often information and biases related to information lead to outcomes which are sub-optimal in outcome. In most cases, biases of one form or the other exists in terms of decision-making because in a real world of complexity, information can be most of the times - inadequate, asymmetric, incomplete, and imperfect. Information in a real-world context is hardly adequate, perfect and complete for perfect decision-making for a rational outcome to realize a common good. So is it so that in such a situation, the common good is an illusion or myth. When the agents, consumers, government, regulators, and producers do not have a perfect set of information, the paradigm in which the recourse of Economics should work for a "Common Good" of a dystopic future is or should be ideally - "Psycho-Analytic".
A world which is struggling with Geo-Political Tensions, War, Threats of Pervasive Nationalism, Public Health Pandemics, Endemics, Conflicts, Lack of Peace, Identity Destruction, Prevalence of Intolerance, Terrorism, Subjugation of Human and Civil Rights, Lack of Privacy, Trust with a command economy where everyone in the society is a commodity, it is imperative to rely upon a Psycho-Analytic Definition of Economics for a Common Good in Future.
Such a Psycho-Analytic Definition of Economics will therefore understand the importance and need for competition for states while it will also understand the critical presence of regulation in the presence of markets. This will be because at the core of such an understanding, it will try to solve challenges of Climate Disasters, Market Takeovers, and Predatory Information Capitalism of Technology with Society being a consumer identity on a digital platform being controlled by algorithms.
Hence, such an approach will place Human Rights and Justice too at the centre point of all challenges of the future and try to solve it for global common good at the backdrop of a dystopic future. Primarily it will be a Psycho-Analytic approach within the new recourse of Economics because it will have the heartlessness of empirical science on one hand and will also have the art of soul, faith and religion. Art of faith, religion will be mixed with Empirical Science within such a Psycho-Analytic approach of the new recourse of Economics for addressing a Common Good for the future. Human relations, human narratives, reflection of human memories, storytelling of human narratives and their interrelationships with and within the society along with the well-being of the Earth, Species, Nature and Humanity will be an essential component of such a Psycho-Analytic Definition of Economics. Since, human relations, narratives, reflections and memories will be a key part of the new Psycho-Analytic Definition of Economics, the importance of verbal and nonverbal language which measures the value of human, plant and animal life on Earth will also become very important as a part of Psycho-Analytic Definition of Economics for a Common Good in Future. To illustrate, for instance, the global value chain of consumers is already hooked on Amazon for their purchase decisions. The pandemic has made consumers more reliant on Amazon in terms of their purchase decisions regarding any product. Often it can be seen that either the information is complete, incomplete or sometimes it is too much with a large variety of products. In such a situation, consumers can or might fall into the trap of not buying anything online by waiting for another better product because of the huge supply line of products in the Amazon platform. It might also happen that it can also trigger excessive buying of consumers in terms of true and complete information of huge supply lines of products in the online platform. But the question is whether the information about the product is authentic or whether when the consumer decision-making is happening whether uses of rights, ethical valuation of products and their associated impacts on society, ecology and environment is done or not by each consumer. Such a decision-making will be responsible, but it will only happen when each consumer is behaving with a "Psycho-Analytical" viewpoint rather than with an economic and strategic impulsion. It is over here that the role of regulators to implement such a - "Psycho-Analytical" decision-making becomes more important to motivating consumers towards an attitude of "Psychoanalysis" while making consumer decisions.
A similar notion is applicable also to what we are viewing in a post-pandemic situation in all OTT platforms as our entertainment consumption. It is imperative to push for a "Psycho-Analytical" viewpoint while making consumption decisions even for OTT platforms are made in terms of what we are viewing at the present and will view in future. With a plethora of supply of OTT content with a wide range of Psycho-Analytical narratives and impact on society, the imposition of a regulator for OTT content consumption is gradually becoming a necessity. Such a necessity will gradually spill over in most of the purchase and consumption decisions of society for the future with a dynamic and changing World Order.
The World Order facing the decline of the European Union, Labour Unions, Rise of A New G20 Order, the Rise of A Dragon Growing Developed Country Recessions, Collapse of Institutions with the aggression of new technologies will need this new Economics which will or can only survive if - "Psycho-Analysis" becomes an integral component of such a new definition of Economics. Only then will it be able to ensure a common good for the future. Complete information can only emerge when the Psycho-Analytic definition of New Recourse of Economics of a Futuristic Common Good in a dystopic future is working perfectly with the Art of Faith, Religion, Soul and Objectivity of Empirical Science. In the absence of any one of them, the new recourse will inevitably fail and the World Order will only move towards a larger degree of dystopia.
Anandajit Goswami, Professor, Department of Social and Political Studies and Director, Faculty of Behavioural and Social Science (FBSS), Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies (MRIIRS), Faridabad, Haryana, director.fbss@mriu.edu.in. Views ar authors own. Usual disclaimers apply. This article is excerpted from https://geekonomistdiary.blogspot.com/2022/12/what-will-recourse-of-economics-for.html