UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES CEBU

SOCIAL SCIENCES DIVISION

LAHUG, CEBU CITY

____________________________________________________________________________
_

Changing Behavior, Shifting Paradigm

Ma. Nikka Andrea F. Oquias

Book Review
Levitt, Steven D. and Dubner, Stephen J. (2009). Superfreakonomics: Global
Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life
Insurance. New York, United States of America: Penguin Group.

Prof. Zenaida Ligan

PS 183
October 9, 2013

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Superfreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes,

and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance
If there is one phrase that summarizes the main theme echoed in the works of Levitt
and Dubner, it is that people respond to incentives. This phrase not only describes how human
beings behave, but also explains the underlying reasons why humans tend to they behave the
way they do.
Equally interesting is how both authors were able to show that economics is a discipline
that goes beyond numbers and graphs of supply and demand. They have effectively introduced
a new way of examining the world in a different manner by demonstrating a systematic means
of describing how people make decisions, how they change their minds and why do they
engage in particular actions. From issues of prostitution, to terrorism and global warming, Levitt
and Dubner have proven that fed with the right data, proper economic tools coupled with
practical sense anybody is just capable of understanding the dynamics of society, the nuances
of human behavior and the politics of economics or vice versa..
Thesis Statement
Over the course of time, the world has changed so much. The idea how globalization
has dramatically restructured the notion that international affairs is equally shaped by the
domestic affairs reinforces the fact that people are now given much more leeway in asserting
influence in the international arena. However, though man has been decisively instrumental in
facilitating the globalizing process through breakthroughs in information and technology, his
human behavior- the propensity to respond to incentives- proves to be the most limiting factor
that could hinder if not realize the achievement of genuine development and deeper integration.
Therefore this paper argues that humans are not singlehandedly motivated by selfishness and
gains they are rather driven by a much richer set of values and preferences. Man should then
be taken critically as someone capable of changing his primordial drive for self-satisfaction to
show acts of altruism given the right incentive and the compelling motivation.
Taking off from here, supporting arguments will show how globalization taken as an
outcome of the various processes is actually facilitated not primarily of the desire to improve
society but rather to cater foremost to the interest every man. Hence, the advancement we are
seemingly facing today rests on shaky grounds not because there remains to be this wide gap
between the haves and have nots but because people- man- continue to uphold the feeling of
detachment and indifference. In addition, this review revolves upon proving that on the one
hand while self- interest and human behavior has maintained to determine how the international
arena is deemed to operate, information revolution and technological advancement on the other,
make-up and has facilitated the globalization process.
2.0 The Crux of Globalization: Information and Technology
We all have evolved, but how much really have been changed? Man remains to be the
selfish individual he was before, but in different time and in different environment, leading us to
1

Superfreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes,

and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance
assume that despite the primordial behavior, he still has the ability to compromise his personal
goals and show acts altruism- but the question whether it is genuine altruism devoid of any
other inducements of some sorts is still up for debate.
Out of necessity, man was forced to develop ways and means to make things easier for
him spurring now the rise of information and technology that has made globalization possible.
But out of this personal desire also, people across the globe were able to reap the benefits of
such ingenuity. He may not have the intent to help other people, but the concept of externality
and spill- over, exacerbated by the concept of interconnectedness allowed people from all parts
of the world to enjoy the advantages of such advancement.
In this instance let us consider the case of India. Blatant inequality, undervaluation and
underdevelopment have described the country over time, despite the efforts of the government
to solve this problem for example by banning dowries and selective abortions through
legislation, efforts were rather ignored by many. But a different sort of intervention seemed to
have helped- a plain entrepreneurial development called television. In fact it wasnt even
designed to help anyone at all, but as it turned out the women who recently got cable TVs were
significantly willing to tolerate wife beating, less likely to admit to having a son preference and
more likely to exercise personal autonomy. TV somehow seemed to be empowering women in a
way that government intervention had not.
Moreover, let us take the case of the rise of electric street cars and automobiles. Back
then, city dwellers did not rise up in some mass movement of altruism or self- restraint
surrendering all the benefits of horse power, but they switched to cars because it was relatively
cheaper to own and operated, extravagantly cleaner and far more efficient. The offset effects of
this would be that cities around the world were able to take a deep breath without holding their
noses and at last resume their march of progress.
Third, the advancement of technology has also opened floodgates for advanced
treatment. Not only has it improved patient outcomes but made doctors more efficient where the
dream of electronic medical records are made a straightforward reality.
Additionally, he progress of information and technology prove to be very pivotal
especially to the so called elite prostitutes who just rely on the internet for costumers. But this
however is not the case for suicide bombers who can possibly be traced with their banking
transactions. It goes similarly to chemo patients too who are somehow made to believe that the
treatment will save them when in fact it is remarkably inefficient. Modern technology has
become so proficient that it often masks the underlying costs associated with our use of it.
But blame it not only to technology; man has also been the decisive player. Consider for
instance kidney transplant operation. With technology at hand there seems to be no problem,
but then what if there is no kidney donor after all? Stories abounded of one spouse giving
2

Superfreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes,

and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance
kidney to the other, a brother coming through for his sister, a growing woman for her aging
parent, even kidneys donated between long ago playground friends. But what if you were dying
and didnt have a friend or relative willing to give a kidney? Here, we revert back to the concept
that people respond to incentives. No matter how much we try to somehow compensate for the
lack of our capabilities by innovating devices, still it rests in the hands of man to shape his and
others destiny.
3.0 Analysis: Incessant Trade-off
Conventional wisdom tells us that acts of altruism are better said than done. Yes?
Somehow we could say that. Even when there are widespread societal gains, when people
arent compelled to pay the full cost of their actions they have little incentive to change their
behavior. For example, when the worlds big cities were choked with horse manure, people
didnt just switch to the car because it was good for the society, they switch because it was in
their economic interest to do so. Trying to appeal to the altruistic selves of every person by
asking them to change their behavior not out of self- interest but rather out of selflessness
stands 1 out of 10 chances.
Environmental issues for example like global warming, can be seen less like a hopeless
problem not unless people are willing to set aside their self- interest and do the right thing even
if its personally costly. But the question still stands, are people just innately altruistic? Or are
people just incapable of manifesting acts of altruism?
On Human Nature: Good or bad?
An average American may not consider Iran the most forward thinking nation in the
world, but surely some credit should go to the only country that has recognized altruism for what
it is and what it is not. If research proves anything it is that a question like: are people innately
altruistic? Is the wrong kind of question to ask. People arent good or bad. People are people
and they respond to incentives. They can nearly always be manipulated, for good or ill, of only
you find the right lever. Hence, human beings are capable of generous, selfless, even heroic
behavior and they are also capable of heartless acts of apathy. So are human beings capable of
generous selfless, even heroic behavior? Absolutely. Are they also capable of heartless acts of
apathy? Absolutely.
4.0 Conclusion: Behavioral Change and Vertical Integration
If economics was one way ticket to fully understand human behavior and predict what
will happen in the future, no doubt economists, analysts, politicians and leaders of our time
would die just to have that. But the reality is that economics cant. It may have developed tools
to quantify how people behave and make decisions but the complexity of a human being is
beyond its boundaries.
3

Superfreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes,

and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance
Drawing from a constructivist perspective, the social world does not exist out there but
in here. Peoples beliefs and assumptions become particularly significant when they are
shared, especially when they give the community or people a sense of identity and distinctive
interests (Heywood, 2000). However, when the beliefs they share are founded based on
mistrust and selfishness, it follows that they would also act and live according to what they
believe how the world works. Like Alexander Wendts anarchy is what state make of it implies,
state behavior is not determined by the structure of the international system, but by how
particular states view anarchy. If the domestic realm, which is reflective of the international
realm, is to behave like a selfish being based on the belief that other states are behaving that
way too, what future might this hold to the international system and humanity as a whole?
Globalization is an encompassing phenomenon. As much as it is about politicoeconomic relations, it is also about fostering social relations. Information and technology may
have all this time served as a conduit for wider connection but whether or not has it genuinely
paved the way towards deeper integration remains to be seen.
If we change our behavior- that which pertains to the propensity to do things only when
incentives and motivations abound most likely we will see that the interconnectedness most
people are talking about- the deepening of social relations nevertheless is not only described
but greatly manifested and felt by many.
Shifting our paradigm of viewing the world as a competitive ground towards viewing it as
an environment which encourages cooperation and considers individuals as capable of showing
altruistic feeling to everyone, who knows the perpetual peace Kant has envisioned is
nonetheless possible after all.