[cortesoft]

I think most economists understand the adversarial nature of an economy, which is why a lot of their models are built on game theory.

I think the bigger issue is that people are not as rational, nor as consistent, as the models treat them. The fundamental premise of a lot of economic theory is that people have consistent, ranked, preferences, and that people work to maximize their preferences. Most people don’t fit that.

My sister is a political science professor, and she says this is an open secret in political science. The assumption is that people have consistent preferences (e.g. someone who is pro gun control is always pro gun control), but research has shown people are fickle, and will give different answers at different times.