Another economist argues for extended unemployment compensation during the COVID-19 pandemic

because a rich country like the United States should take care of its less fortunate citizens—an example of

normative analysis.

Even if the line between positive and normative statements is not always crystal clear, economic analysis does

try to remain rooted in the study of the actual people who inhabit the actual economy. Fortunately however, the

assumption that individuals are purely self-interested is a simplification about human nature. In fact, we need

to look no further than to Adam Smith, the very father of modern economics to find evidence of this. The

opening sentence of his book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, puts it very clearly: “How selfish soever man
40 2 • Choice in a World of Scarcity

may be supposed, there are evidently some principles in his nature, which interest him in the fortune of
{"creator": "PDFMiner", "moddate": "2022-12-07T14:23:05-06:00", "total_pages": 597, "source": "downloads\\business\\economics\\Microeconomics3e.pdf", "creationdate": "2022-12-07T14:15:44-06:00", "uploaded_via": "batch_uploader", "source_file": "downloads\\business\\economics\\Microeconomics3e.pdf", "producer": "Prince 14.2 (www.princexml.com)", "file_hash": "830b81f41611ac67a490444dbb5d6aed292224606965b06965b914443c93331a", "title": "Principles of Microeconomics 3e", "file_type": ".pdf", "upload_timestamp": "2026-02-07T15:37:44.339247", "batch_upload": true, "file_name": "Microeconomics3e.pdf", "file_size_mb": 26.99}