A FAT LADY IN A CORSET - ALTRUISM AND SOCIAL-THEORY

This manuscript reviews the literature on altruism as it has been disc ussed traditionally in economics and rational choice theory, evolution ary biology, and psychology. All of these fields assume self-interest in the norm for human behavior; all, therefore, experience great diffi culty explaining action that risks sacrificing one's own welfare in or der to benefit another. The literature on altruism is reviewed here no t just to understand and explain the phenomenon itself, but also to us e our understanding of altruism as an analytical tool that can yield i nsight on the validity, universality, and limitations of the intellect ual theories about human behavior that organize so much of our daily l ives and public policies.