A Funeral for Homo economicus.

Economists like Thorstein Veblen, John Maynard Keynes and  Herbert Simon criticised Homo economicus as an ideal which does not exist in the real world due to uncertainty and bounded rationality in the economic decision-making. This argument doesn't get to the point: There is plenty of evidence, that - under no circumstances of whatever perfect knowledge - there could exist a Homo economicus, being self-centered, amoral and only utility-oriented. Not only the empirical studies on investor behavior of Amos Tversky (1995) but also and especially the studies of Fehr and Gächter (2000) on the ultimatum game are providing fascinating experimental evidence for the deeply socially rooted bases of human economy. Manifested in the degree of market interaction and economic cooperation human economics reflect our evolutionary developed dependence on cooperation in social groups. The best evidence for this fact is obviously money itself: What is money? Money is a social construction, which can easily be proved by the fact that it can exist as a piece of paper or even a digitalized entry on a computer memory. Its real value although is not comprised by the piece of paper, but by the unspoken social agreement to serve as equivalent for socially acknowledged goods and services. The trust in this social agreement we all have is the best evidence possible for the social character of our economy.