Bread and Bullets

Abstract

Standard economics omits the role of narratives (the stories that people tell themselves and others) when they make all kinds of decisions. Narratives play a role in understanding the environment; focusing attention; predicting events; motivating action; assigning social roles and identities; defining power relations; and establishing and conveying social norms. This paper describes the role narratives play in decision making, as it also juxtaposes this description against the backdrop of the Bolshevik-spawned narrative that played a critical role in the history of Russia and the Soviet Union in the 20th Century.

Keywords: narrative, motivation, attention, prediction, identity, social assignment

JEL Classification: A120, A130, A140, D030, D040, D200, D230, D300, D620, D710, D720, D740, E020, E030