John R. Commons and Herbert A. Simon on the Concept of Rationality
H. A. Simon and J. R. Commons are known to have been influenced by an intellectual context that explains a large part of their works, but it is worth emphasizing that the concepts of rationality developed by both Simon and Commons are very similar. The aim of this paper is to make clear that Commons provided a paradigm of bounded rationality and that Simon adapted and formalized the concept. The first section of this article shows that a realistic approach to human nature stresses the non-rationality of behavior. It is also stressed that this non-rationality, or reasonableness, is the core of the theories of decision making as developed by both Simon and Commons.The second section shows that although those theories of decision are central to both Commons' and Simon's political economy, because their objectives are different their use of the concept of rationality has different implications.