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 chara ...

", a critique of economism 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, ...

. The movement was founded in 1981 by sociologist Alain Caillé, 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 ...

. 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 O ...

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 Ariès * Genevieve Azam * Gerald Berthoud * Alain Caillé * 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 Durkheim ...

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 th ...

* Michael Freitag * Marcel Gauchet * Philippe d'Iribarne * Stephen Kalberg * Serge Latouche * Louis Maitrier * Jean-Claude Michéa * Thierry Paquot * Lucien Scubla * Camille Tarot * Frederic Vandenberghe * Raoul Vaneigem * 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