In today’s “The Daily Drucker” excerpt entitled “Nature of Man and Society,” Joseph A. Maciariello cites Peter F. Drucker’s The End of Economic Man, first published in 1939.

In this book, Drucker focuses on the social and political breakdown of Europe, the rise of the Nazis, and how the catastrophe of Nazism could be avoided, both in the past and in the future.

Drucker rejected the idea that people are only “economic animals,” and that a person only works towards bettering their economic position, privilege, and rights.

The motivations behind human actions are complex. Especially in countries that are facing so much political and social upheaval that totalitarian leaders like Stalin or Hitler emerge.

Human beings seek more than just economic satisfaction. They seek meaning, community, and  an identity beyond their jobs.

This is why the title of the book is “the end of economic man,” because this model of human nature no longer works.

There are political, social and psychological factors that also shape human behavior, not just economic factors.

ACTION POINT: Find meaning in life beyond just your work.