For most of human history, political economy was a subset of philosophy. The fact that economics does not abide by that classical model tells you that people can see it as a science or try to conceive of it as ascience. And I have a great allergy to economic thinking even though I'm very fascinated with economics as a discipline. So this sort of extending the boundaries with your advisor seemingly did economics of marriage, the economics of crime. I'm very allergic to all that.
When the 20-year-old overachiever Johnathan Bi's first startup crashed and burned, he headed to a Zen retreat in the Catskills to "debug himself." He discovered René Girard and his mimetic theory--the idea that imitation is a key and often unconscious driver of human behavior. Listen as entrepreneur and philosopher Bi shares with EconTalk host Russ Roberts what he learned from Girard and Girard's insights into how we meet our primal need for money, fame, and power. The conversation includes the contrasts between economics and Girard's perspective.