Economists tend to think that people pursue a material well being for it's direct impact, rather than its status effect. We should always esteem the person who is wise and prudent over the person who's foolish and intemperate," he says. "We just kind of want to go out on our individual own and climb as high as we can"
Author, economist, and theologian Mary Hirschfeld of Villanova University talks about her book, Aquinas and the Market, with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Hirschfeld looks at the nature of our economic activity as buyers and sellers and whether our pursuit of economic growth and material well-being comes at a cost. She encourages a skeptical stance about the ability of more stuff to produce true happiness and/or satisfaction. The conversation includes a critique of economic theory and the aspect of human satisfaction outside the domain of economists.