VDM Lacour, P: Mimetic Desire in Theory of Value

Modern psychology is pioneering the return of hedonism into choice theory. With this comeback of hedonism, the dialogue between economics and psychology loops a loop that originates in the marginal revolution, more than a century ago. Then economists inspired by advances in psychology were leading the charge against hedonism spoiling marginal utility theory. This book starts with a reexamination of the old hedonic critique. Why did utility theory throughout its history try to eradicate the flaws stressed by the critique? To what extent would it not apply to a utility theory reshaped along the lines of Kahneman s well-being psychology or Ainslie s picoeconomics? This book shows that old and new hedonism are inherently the same: a hydra with two heads, pleasure as the end, and its behavioral consequence, maximizing. The way out of hedonism requires getting rid of both, along with utility. This is achieved in René Girard s theory of mimetic desire, where the utility concept does not have relevance. The book explores breaches that this theory allows in choice theory and in the theory of competition. It ends with an exploration of intentions in an experiment on trust and reciprocity.