Blog 17

I read one of my articles titled, “Is Greed Good?” by Christoph Uhlhass. This article was mostly about eBay. What it takes to “survive” when purchasing items off of the website. I don’t really that information about eBay will help me, however, there were some good quotes about greed and the economy that I think I might be able to use. The article defines an economic man (Homo economicus) as “a rational, selfish person who single-mindedly strives for maximum profit.” I think that Jayne fits this definition, while he definitely does not seem to be the sharpest crayon in the box; I think he knows what he’s doing when it comes to benefiting himself and making others look bad. I also thought this quote was good, “People not only try to maximize their gains but also watch to see that they get roughly the same share as others: they are happy to get one piece of cake as long as they next person does not get two pieces.” This definitely ties to Jayne because in episode 9, he wants to make sure he gets the most money possible. That is why he decides to rat out Simon and River because the Feds made him a better offer than Simon. This quote was good as well, “Circumstance also sculpts behavior, studies have revealed, regardless of natural character traits or values. That is, whether a person is competing in a market of strangers or negotiating with a partner can make a big difference in whether fairness, reciprocity or selfishness will predominate.” I like that because I feel Jayne was selfish when he decided to go along side with the Feds.