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Commitment, Kantian Economics and Climate Change: Rethinking Rational Choice and Individual Responsibility

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Abstract

Individual actions – and individual responsibility – in regard to climate-related issues are often overlooked because they have a negligible impact at the global scale. Yet, despite having little to no impact, some people commit themselves to reducing their carbon footprint; that is, they are willingly choosing to adapt their consumption despite having no tangible impact on the issue they are tackling. Our aim is to question the permeability of economic rationality with moral (individual) responsibility at stake in climate-related issues. We provide an account of a possible bridge between deontological obligations and utility-maximisation in three different frameworks, namely Senian commitment, Kantian economics and choice under unresolved valuations conflicts. This analysis of different frameworks incorporating deontological motives in Rational Choice Theory analytically grounds individual commitments without relying on political enforcements or monetary incentives

Suggested Citation

  • Mathieu Guigourez, 2025. "Commitment, Kantian Economics and Climate Change: Rethinking Rational Choice and Individual Responsibility," Documents de travail du Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne 25002, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1), Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne.
    • Handle: RePEc:mse:cesdoc:25002
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Rational Choice Theory; Amartya Sen; Individual Responsibility; Kantian Economics; Normative Uncertainty; Commitment; Climate Ethics; Normative Decision Theory;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B41 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Economic Methodology - - - Economic Methodology
    • D01 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles
    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty

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