6. The Human Person as Worker

The last chapter presented the identity of the economic agent as a real human person with all the pertaining characteristics. The implicit approach to the economic agent in that chapter was as a consumer or an investor, trying to broaden the view of the motivations of her decisions, actions, and reactions. This chapter deals with the economic agent as a worker. A more complete notion of the identity of the economic agent than the standard economics view of it also bears consequences on the economic agent’s desirable characteristics and motivations as a worker. The chapter first explains classical analyses of human action and their consequences for labor. Then, it introduces new psychological notions about the desirable treatment of work. In particular, there are different ways of “living” work, the best being to consider work as a “calling.” Thus, people have a purpose; they feel called upon to perform a task that bears an impact on others and that is part of an enterprise with a greater reach than their individual possibilities. The chapter concludes that economics should re-think its views on work.