It would be better to just face the truth — it is impossible to describe interaction and cooperation when there is essentially only one actor.Macroeconomic challenges
Lars P. Syll | Professor, Malmo University
The assumption of representative agents is atomistic in the sense that atoms are indistinguishable elements of a homogenous system that is characterized by timeless invariant relationships that can be captured as mathematical functions — as it physics. However, social systems are not at all like physical systems, are they?
So why assume atomism in the first place, when it is bound to fail. The only realistic answer I have seen is methodological convenience. Such models are tractable. Modeling complexity is hard.
