The ''Mouvement anti-utilitariste dans les sciences sociales'' (Anti-utilitarian Movement in the Social Sciences) is a French intellectual movement.
/ref> It is based around the ideology of "anti-

utilitarianism In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected individuals. Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different charact ...

", a critique of

economism Economism, sometimes spelled economicism, is a term referring to the distraction of working class political activism from a global political project to purely economic demands. The concept encompasses rewarding workers in socialism with money inc ...

in social sciences and instrumental rationalism in moral and

political philosophy Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, l ...

. The movement was founded in 1981 by sociologist

Alain Caillé Allain Caillé (born 1944, Paris) is a French sociologist and economist. He is Professor of sociology at the University of Paris X Nanterre. He is a founding member of the Anti-Utilitarian Movement in the Social Sciences (MAUSS) and editor of ...

, with the establishment of its interdisciplinary monthly journal ''Revue du MAUSS'' which is still published and edited by Caillé. The journal covers topics in economics, anthropology, sociology and political philosophy from an anti-utilitarian perspective. His name is both an acronym and a tribute to the famous anthropologist

Marcel Mauss Marcel Mauss (; 10 May 1872 – 10 February 1950) was a French sociologist and anthropologist known as the "father of French ethnology". The nephew of Émile Durkheim, Mauss, in his academic work, crossed the boundaries between sociology and a ...

. The movement works to promote a third paradigm, as a complement to, or replacement for

holism Holism () is the idea that various systems (e.g. physical, biological, social) should be viewed as wholes, not merely as a collection of parts. The term "holism" was coined by Jan Smuts in his 1926 book ''Holism and Evolution''."holism, n." OED Onl ...

and

methodological individualism In the social sciences, methodological individualism is the principle that subjective individual motivation explains social phenomena, rather than class or group dynamics which are illusory or artificial and therefore cannot truly explain marke ...

.Michèle Richman. 2002. The French Sociological Revolution from Montaigne to Mauss. SubStance. Vol. 31, No. 1, Issue 97: Special Issue: The American Production of French Theory (2002), pp. 27-35 The movement began through conversations between Caillé and Swiss anthropologist Gerald Berthoud wondering why the economic theory of

based on obligatory reciprocity and debt did not provide any possibilities of a "free gift" motivated by empathy rather than rational self-interest. The movement's early efforts considered the possibility of reintroducing an aspect of genuine interest in the welfare of others in economic theory. Among the economic policies suggested by the movement is the

basic income guarantee Universal basic income (UBI) is a social welfare proposal in which all citizens of a given population regularly receive an unconditional transfer payment, that is, without a means test or need to work. It would be received independently of an ...

a concept originally developed by

Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...

Some regular contributors to the journal

Paul Jorion Paul Jorion (born 22 July 1946 in Brussels) is by training an anthropologist, sociologist with a special interest in the cognitive sciences. He has also written seven books on capitalist economics. Paul was born and raised in Belgium, and has b ...

* Paul Ariès * Genevieve Azam * Gerald Berthoud *

* Philippe Chanial * Jacques Dewitte *

Mary Douglas Dame Mary Douglas, (25 March 1921 – 16 May 2007) was a British anthropologist, known for her writings on human culture and symbolism, whose area of speciality was social anthropology. Douglas was considered a follower of Émile Durkhei ...

Denis Duclos Denis Duclos (born 1947 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine) is a French sociologist, Ph.D. and research director at the CNRS (''National Centre for Scientific Research'') in Paris. He is the author of ''The werewolf complex: America's fascination ...

Jean-Pierre Dupuy Jean-Pierre Dupuy (born February 20, 1941) is a French engineer and philosopher. Biography Dupuy attended the Ecole polytechnique, where he graduated in 1965 and attended the Ecole des Mines. He was a professor of French and a researcher at t ...

* Michael Freitag *

Marcel Gauchet Marcel Gauchet (; born 1946) is a French historian, philosopher, and sociologist. He is professor emeritus of the Centre de recherches politiques Raymond Aron at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales and head of the periodical ''Le D ...

Philippe d'Iribarne Philippe d’Iribarne (born 7 March 1937, Casablanca, French Morocco) is a French author and director of research at CNRS. He works within a research centre called LISE (Laboratoire interdisciplinaire en sociologie économique or "interdisciplinar ...

Stephen Kalberg Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

Serge Latouche Serge Latouche (; ; born 12 January 1940) is a French emeritus professor of economics at the University of Paris-Sud. He holds a degree in political sciences, philosophy and economy. Work Latouche is a specialist in North-South economic and c ...

Louis Maitrier Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ( ...

Jean-Claude Michéa Jean-Claude Michéa, born in 1950, is a retired philosophy professor and French philosopher, author of several essays devoted in particular to the thought and work of George Orwell. Libertarian socialist,. he is known for his committed positions ...

Thierry Paquot Thierry is a French male given name, derived from the Germanic "Theodoric". It is the cognate of German "Dietrich" and " Dieter", English Terry, Derek and Derrick, and of various forms in other European languages. It is also a surname. People wit ...

Lucien Scubla Lucien is a male given name. It is the French form of Luciano or Latin ''Lucianus'', patronymic of Lucius. Lucien, Saint Lucien, or Saint-Lucien may also refer to: People Given name * Lucien of Beauvais, Christian saint *Lucien, a band member ...

Camille Tarot Camille may refer to: Fictional entities * a Power Rangers Jungle Fury character * Camille Wallaby, a character in Alfred Hedgehog * a character from ''League of Legends'' video game voiced by Emily O'Brien Films *''Camille (1912 film)'', a sh ...

Frederic Vandenberghe Frederic may refer to: Places United States * Frederic, Wisconsin, a village in Polk County * Frederic Township, Michigan, a township in Crawford County ** Frederic, Michigan, an unincorporated community Other uses * Frederic (band), a Japanese r ...

Raoul Vaneigem Raoul Vaneigem (; born 21 March 1934) is a Belgian writer known for his 1967 book ''The Revolution of Everyday Life''. He was born in Lessines ( Hainaut, Belgium) and studied romance philology at the Free University of Brussels from 1952 to 195 ...

* Jean-Pierre Voyer

References

{{reflist Schools of economic thought Philosophical movements Continental philosophy Great Recession in Europe Political movements 21st-century social movements Modern art Organizations established in 1981 1981 establishments in France Far-left politics in France Contemporary French history Social philosophy