THE LIMITATIONS OF SELF-DETERMINATION NOTION IN THE LIBERAL THEORY

Abstract

The view that individuals are themselves autonomous agents is a fundamental point to liberal economic theory. Several works address the problem of individualization in social and political thought. There are countless difficulties that arise in the construction and implementation of the so called homo economicus. This paper contributes to this methodological debate by focusing on the notion of autonomy that permeates the behavioral assumptions of mainstream economic theory. The text presents two internal criticism of the very concept of autonomy in liberalism: the idea that individuals are in some non-trivial sense making choices and the distributive conception that it is legitimate reward each one according to its participation in the production process.