Embodied Agency in the Economy

The concept of actor is a radical alternative to the rational economic agent, based on two embodied notions: Autonomy, which refers to capabilities of self-determination and flourishing; and feelings, which ground valuation as enabling reasonable action. In this chapter the person is viewed as developmentally and historically unfolding, embedded in social relations, in the Hegelian tradition. Agency is analyzed in terms of the conceptual triad of recognition, inward and outward embodiment, and is distributed in assemblages of actors and artifacts. These assemblages underpin the potential “We-mode” of action as well as agential powers experienced as feelings, such as trust in the context of markets. Agency is further elaborated with Sen’s notions of capabilities and functionings, and complemented by identity expressed through narratives and memories shared with others. In sum, the reasonable person in the economy is the actor (as different from agent), who experiences feelings, seeks to flourish in autonomy, and whose reasons for action are mutually recognized by others.