Many academic economists still cling to "rational choice theory": the idea that society can be understood as a collection of individuals each rationally maximizing their own utility, with the outcome being an equilibrium where nobody has an incentive to deviate from their course of action. Rational choice theory is inadequate to explain many things, and it's often used by rich and powerful people to justify the status quo. But many economists still seem to believe in it.

I just realized something funny: maybe economists clinging to this theory are violating this theory itself!

But then I realized how they'd respond to this claim. The way they always do. They'd say the current state of affairs actually *is* an equilibrium with everyone rationally maximizing their own utility. It's just that economists aren't trying to do what I thought. They're not trying to describe the real world. They're trying to justify the status quo, publish papers in prestigious journals, get promoted, etc.

So maybe they win this round.