Homo Economicus Ergo Homo Peccatus?

Homo economicus has justly been identified as the universal bogeyman of economics. Economic man, having been showered with criticism for a century and a half, continues to occupy critics to this day. Plenty of economists in the previous century have proclaimed the death of homo economicus and attempted to go beyond it. Interestingly, some Christians have argued that the agent inhabiting economic models comes close to a realistic description of fallen man. This article investigates this claim by raising the question if homo economicus can be seen as a sinner. It starts by defining sin as disordered love and then proceeds to distinguish three different homines economici: homo avarus, homo economicus proper, and homo rationalis. It then subjects these views of man to a combined historical and hamartiological analysis. I conclude that all three views exhibit moral shortcomings and in their own way can be seen as sinful. Fortunately, redemption from evil is possible.