Paul Romer, Seidner University Professor in Finance at Boston College, delivered a speech at the Clough Center’s Spring Symposium on Mar 22, 2025. This speech was part of a panel that considered “the cultural and economic foundations of democracy.” In his over four decades as an economist, Romer has addressed a range of abstract and practical questions, typically by re-examining an existing concern from a novel perspective. In 2018, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for his outstanding contributions to the field.
At the Symposium, Romer focused on the cultural aspect of democracy from an economist’s perspective. In particular, he discussed the evolution of human beings’ feelings as the cultural foundation for the emergence of democratic norms.
Drawing upon cultural anthropology to analyze the foundations of our choices, Romer pointed out that this methodological approach resembles that of Jeremy Bentham, the English philosopher, in terms of the systematization of concepts. However, he cautioned that this is only a tool to think analytically because the real world is neither orderly nor systematic. He then distinguished between thinking as an activity and the feeling side of human beings.
Romer highlighted the institutional characteristics of democracy. In other words, a persistent pattern of norms and behaviors lays a foundation for democracy. Romer, then, added that behavioral norms shape collective behaviors in a democratic form. You can watch the full video of Romer’s speech from the link below.
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