In this month’s column, we break from our ongoing series “Sufficient Affluence/Sustainable Economy” to introduce our readers to the field of Humanistic Economics. The nuances of Economics may befuddle even the brightest of minds. However, by creating a hybrid of the Social Science of Economics with the various fields of Humanities, we may refer to the emerging product as Humanistic Economics—an approach to the puzzle of life, grounded in common sense and in the humane and empathetic treatment of our fellow beings. When economists bring their talents to the legal community, we bring more than a bag of numbers, equations, and charts to the table. We hope that we travel with, and share, some deeper understanding of human behavior. Mostly, we find the Humanistic Economics in the narrative while the mathematics appears in the spreadsheets.
Understanding Humanistic Economics has become critical for all facets of the Law, which consider outcomes for human beings. Though many humanistic elements exist in areas of legal practice, these elements appear most pronounced in matters of Employment Law, Personal Injury, and Wrongful Death. Economic Determination, put forth as numbers and calculations, demands reflection on the nature and behavior of the human beings involved in a case.
In order to help us to summarize and to build the integral thought process that is Humanistic Economics, we turn to the presentations made in unity by economist Mark A. Lutz and psychologist Kenneth Lux some forty years ago. Given the current state of the world, it feels appropriate to revisit this older, well-established approach for understanding and solving economic problems. We may apply this approach on an individual basis, such as to a plaintiff or to a defendant in a court case, or on a global basis, to understand and perhaps to resolve larger issues.
To move toward these goals, Lutz and Lux provide a well-grounded evolution of Humanistic Economics from the 18th through the 20th Centuries in their books The Challenge of Humanistic Economics (Benjamin-Cummings Publishing Co., 1979) and Humanistic Economics: The New Challenge (Rowman & Littlefield, 1988). We will use their synthesis, mixed with a plethora of other sources, as our foundation and framework.
