Jon Elster

He is also a notable proponent of analytical Marxism, and a critic of neoclassical economics and public choice theory, largely on behavioral and psychological grounds.He earned his PhD in 1972 from the École Normale Superieure in Paris with a dissertation on Karl Marx under the direction of Raymond Aron."The breadth and depth of his writings are striking in a time of high specialisation; he is read and discussed by political scientists, legal scholars, economists and philosophers.His work is difficult to summarise in a slogan, but ... it is generally informed by a broad and deep acquaintance with relevant literature in economics, political science, history, philosophy, and psychology."[10] His magisterial 500-page book Explaining Social Behavior includes something of a recantation: I now believe that rational-choice theory has less explanatory power than I used to think.[12] A more recent book, Le désintéressement (part of a two-volume Traité critique de l’homme économique), explores the ramifications of these insights for the possibility of disinterested action.
Oslo, NorwayTorolf ElsterMagli ElsterJean Nicod PrizeJohn von Neumann AwardJohan Skytte Prize in Political ScienceÉcole Normale SuperieurePhilosophyPolitical scienceSocial sciencesPolitical theoryRational choice theoryPhilosophy of social scienceAnalytic philosophyAnalytical MarxismSeptember GroupUniversity of ParisUniversity of OsloUniversity of ChicagoCollège de FranceColumbia UniversityNorwegianphilosopherpolitical theoristRobert K. Mertonprofessorshipsocial scienceneoclassical economicspublic choice theoryNorwegian Broadcasting CorporationKarl MarxRaymond AronNorwegian Academy of Science and LettersAmerican Academy of Arts and SciencesAmerican Philosophical SocietyAcademia EuropaeaFellow of the British AcademyValenciaStockholmTrondheim (NTNU)Louvain-la-NeuveTorcuato di TellaNational University of Colombiamethodological individualismfunctionalismgame theorySour GrapesUlysses and the SirensNorwegian Sociology CanonMaking Sense of Marxtime preferencesLondon Review of BooksAn Introduction to Karl MarxBjørn Erik RaschG. A. CohenJohn RoemerList of Jean Nicod Prize laureatesActa SociologicaHollis, MartinGloria OriggiWayback MachineG. A. CohenAdam PrzeworskiErik Olin WrightPhilippe Van ParijsRobert BrennerHillel SteinerSamuel BowlesJoshua CohenLeft-libertarianismMarxismJohn RawlsRobert NozickSelf-ownershipExploitationJohn HarsanyiHal VarianKornai JánosJean TiroleOliver WilliamsonAvinash K. DixitMaurice ObstfeldGary S. BeckerGlenn C. LouryMatthew RabinDaron AcemogluKevin M. MurphyPhilippe AghionTim BesleyJoshua AngristOlivier BlanchardEsther DufloKenneth J. ArrowEmmanuel SaezMatthew O. JacksonAlvin E. RothRichard H. ThalerDani RodrikSusan AtheyMariana MazzucatoMatthew GentzkowRobert A. DahlJuan José LinzArend LijphartAlexander L. GeorgeElinor OstromFritz W. ScharpfBrian BarrySidney VerbaHanna PitkinJean BlondelRobert KeohaneRobert D. PutnamTheda SkocpolRein TaageperaPhilippe C. SchmitterRonald InglehartPippa NorrisCarole PatemanRobert AxelrodDavid CollierFrancis FukuyamaAmartya SenJane MansbridgeMargaret LeviPeter J. KatzensteinDavid D. LaitinRobert E. GoodinAlexander WendtMartha Finnemore