Yule New (Stock Show) Moon
The triangle of influence came from thinking about the limits of reason. A field where this sort of thinking has become very important over the last few years is economics. Classical economics assumes the rational man (sic). This central figure in all economic thinking chose economic actions based on a logical analysis of his own self interests. His choices maximized his self-interest, so a cheaper car made with the same quality as a more expensive one would always be his choice since he got similar quality for less money.
Problem is, people don’t actually behave this way. Many factors influence a consumer’s choices and some of them create decisions actually opposed to a rational man’s self-interest. Our solar array is a good example. We voluntarily tied up thousands of dollars of capital in an energy generation system that will take years to pay off. This means we eschewed certain short term benefits, having the money to spend or save right now, for a future good. This future good is not defined by the return on investment, but by a shift from a polluting energy source to a non-polluting one. The field of behavioral economics tries to take into account this more typical choice making.
Those whose influence flows largely from the Nietzschean corner, secularists like myself, must account for the choices made by people influenced more strongly by the Smithian. We cannot dismiss it, as the new atheists, flat earthers I call them, do.
