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Bart Wilson

@bartwilson.bsky.social

110 followers 36 following 22 posts

Professor of Economics and Law, Chapman University | Author of Meaningful Economics, The Property Species, and Humanomics https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0197758150

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Bart Wilson is an experimental economist. He holds the Donald P. Kennedy Endowed Chair of Economics and Law in the Chapman University, Argyros School of Business and Economics. He is also the director of the Smith Institute for Political Economy and Philosophy and teaches courses in humanomics. His work has been widely published in both the popular and academic press. .. more

Agriculture 27%

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Bart Wilson @bartwilson.bsky.social · 1d

We never see “anti-self” or “self-sacrificial” models in economics because they’d break the discipline’s moral boundary, namely that every act, however generous, must still fit inside the logic of self-interested utility.

Bart Wilson @bartwilson.bsky.social · 1d

Economists love the term “prosocial.” It sounds generous, but notice we never say “self-sacrificing.” The word smuggles in an optimism that helping others can be good for them without ever really being bad for you.

Bart Wilson @bartwilson.bsky.social · 15d

"Wilson wants economists to reject narrow cause-and-effect arguments because they obscure human purpose and meaning behind action."

www.independent.org/tir/2025-fal...

Book Review: Meaningful Economics: Making the Science of Prosperity More Human, Bart J. Wilson

When economists analyze human conduct exclusively in terms of scarcity, they ignore the complexity of the human mind. In the twentieth century, economists

www.independent.org

Bart Wilson @bartwilson.bsky.social · Sep 10

Here's the link:
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Constrained Optimization or Observation? On What Economists Take as Primary

Economists differ on what they take as primary when constructing the problem of a rational economic order: constrained optimization or observation. The general

papers.ssrn.com

Bart Wilson @bartwilson.bsky.social · Sep 10

I’ve written a short essay on the philosophy of economic science, titled “Constrained Optimization or Observation? On What Economists Take as Primary.” This is just a beginning, and I’m keen to hear counterpoints as I continue down this path.

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Reposted by Bart J. Wilson

Digressionsimpressions @nescio13.bsky.social · Jan 15

digressionsimpressions.substack.com/p/on-whether...

On whether Economists should read Marx, and Adam S. HT @ingridrobeyns.bsky.social. With shout outs to Vernon L. Smith and a number of others.

On whether Economists should read Marx, and Adam S.

When I was a PhD student, I got invited to a Summer program at GMU and over the years got to know James (‘Jim’) Buchanan (and, lest we forget, Gordon Tullock) on a first name basis.

digressionsimpressions.substack.com

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Reposted by Bart J. Wilson

Bart Wilson @bartwilson.bsky.social · Jun 11

Great Strunk!

t.co/10xGjBAxh8

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJFr7cNzuhA/

t.co

Bart Wilson @bartwilson.bsky.social · May 17

Monkeys, markets, and human nature — I join The Great Antidote with Juliette Sellgren to talk about how deep the roots of economics really are.

loom.ly/I6Gdk3Q

What Monkeys Teach Us About Economics with Bart Wilson - The Great Antidote

What if modern economics has overlooked what truly makes us human?In this episode, Bart Wilson joins us to explore humanomics—an approach to economics that reintroduces meaning, culture, and moral jud...

loom.ly

Bart Wilson @bartwilson.bsky.social · Mar 23

I would add that the calling of the university isn’t just about witnessing truth, but also discovering what’s good and beautiful about the human condition. These three distinct values compose a trinity that is necessary to be faithful and courageous to the calling.
crookedtimber.org/2025/03/22/o...

On the Predicament of the Richly Endowed University and Liberal Society — Crooked Timber

crookedtimber.org