The essays of the book deal with fundamental dimensions of rational and irrational behavior, altruism and self-interest, emotions and cold logic. Thanks to the work of important, classical and contemporary thinkers such as Adam Smith, John Maynard Keynes, Albert Hirschman, Daniel Kahneman, and Jon Elster, it can be reasonably argued that both claims that humans are completely rational beings and that their behavior is solely dictated by their own self-interest are unfounded. These are not academic issues, but rather matters that concern everyone, as they ultimately have to do with human nature and self-awareness, given that they concern both our economic, social, and ethical behavior, as well as the design of interventions in social systems.

A major issue of our time is the growing inequalities that are exacerbated by long-term anemic economic growth, as recently highlighted by the work of Thomas Piketty and Robert Gordon. The great concentration of wealth in the hands of a few creates an outrageous concentration of power with great risks for democracy itself.

Those who refuse to be trapped either in a primitive conservatism or in highly radical experiments that usually have painful consequences can equally passionately seek the reform of societies by balancing efficiency and social justice.