What Motivates People to do Whatever They Do



What human beings do inside their heads is a topic that will never be answered completely but will be studied forever. Religion is much about the insides of peoples' heads, but so is my field, economics.

Most of the time, economics is regarded as folly by the general public and those Ph D's in the field are paid only nominally. But, there are times when economists are placed in the highest of posts. Such a moment is now.

I read recently that Amazon has hired over 150 economists. That is the second largest number in any institution behind the Federal Reserve. They were hired by Amazon, not to assess interest rates or inflation, but to get inside peoples' heads. Amazon wants to know why people buy things and how much they will pay. The success of Amazon speaks well for the advice it received from its economists.

Macro economics, the big picture of unemployment, interest rates and inflation is what the famous John Maynard Keynes worked with. Micro economics, why people work and then buy, is what Amazon's economists look at.

A person interested in theology studies documents, such as the Bible, written by religious people. The economist wants to know why the document was written and why someone is reading it. Generally, the economists inquiry would be to find how the writer benefited from writing and how the reader benefits from reading. The economist is trying to get into the heads of both the same way an evangelist is trying to stir up feelings in the pews.

If churches want to be as successful as Amazon, they might want to consider hiring economists.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/07/23/can-economists-and-humanists-ever-be-friends

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Maybe the "Original Sin" Should be Reassigned

Image
We can all agree most Catholic priests are fine people and not guilty of sexual abuse. What Catholics must face, however, it that their church harbors executives who are dishonest . There is an incredible story about the Argentine Bishop Zanchetta. The Pope worked with him in Argentina and they are considered friends. Around 2015 Zanchetta sent nude pictures of himself and they began circulating world wide. He also was too friendly with young seminarians and some left because of him.  Three different officials say they made formal complaints to the Vatican about Zanchetta between 2015 and 2017. Yet, in 2018, the Vatican claimed it was unaware of any complaints about Zanchetta. This might be a good time to repeat the Catholic hierarchy claims to have the sole authority handed down from Jesus to what the faith stands for. It condemns as sinners those who practice birth control, have abortions and gay sexual relationships. Handing the hierarchy this responsibility would make som
Read more

The Religious Capitol Invaders May Yet Win

Image
So much about U.S. society and religion can be learned from the Civil War and what happened afterwards. After its defeat, the South started a myth about the unethical soldiers from the North. The South fought for principles of God and states rights. The North did not. It was the South, this propaganda told the country, that had the high moral ground.  The Capitol invaders, encouraged by Trump, swallowed the myth that Biden's election was stolen. Thus, they think they held and still hold the high moral ground. This was reinforced by the cross and prayers during the invasion. Even with Trump is gone, we will see political opportunists like Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley stroking crowds and feeding the same lies as Trump. Like "the South will rise again" these gullible followers will talk of victory over the unclean. After the Civil War the South rallied around the phrase, Lost Cause. For decades, and maybe to this day, there are ceremonies remembering fallen martyrs, Re
Read more

Father Frank Pavone, the Ultimate Crook

Image
Recently, the Vatican defrocked Frank Pavone. His diehard fans are outraged. This is because he cleverly manipulated his fans and the press all the while living well from donations and, apparently, abusing some women. By making abortion the "sin" of the century, and himself the main opposition to this one sin, he himself could get away with any sin he pleased.  As the link points out, Pavone was the perfect priest for the Trump era. Trump is so self-important laws have no role in his life. He felt accountable to no one. Women were there to be had. Pavone and Trump are interchangeable.  Pavone was very successful raising money. In his mind, abortion was so important in Catholic beliefs and he was so important in anti-abortion the money he raised opposing it was his to do with what he liked. The Catholic Church, the brand name he used to raise this money, thought the money belonged to it. When he gave the Vatican the bird, it gave him walking papers. With polls showing the majo
Read more