Generalized Microeconomics (Paperback)

This publication summarizes the results of theoretical research at the Faculty of Social Sciences at Charles University. The objective of this research was to generalize microeconomics so as to enable modelling of economic rationality even in fields that standard microeconomics more or less avoids like, for example, modelling of behaviour of a firm in a centrally planned economy, modelling the non-profit sectors of market economies, altruism or externalities. In our view, abandoning the homo economicus paradigm and replacing it with a different paradigm with an agent criterion function that conflicts with profit maximization is an impassable route. We have opted for a different path: we try to broaden the scope of microeconomics while treating standard profit/utility maximization as a special case. For us, the generalizing criterion is “Darwinian” maximization of the probability of survival.