As has been discussed on ET ad nauseam, all too often these assumptions bear no relation to the reality of the world in which we live.

ARGeezer:

Why do I suspect that if you were to write such a work you would find yourself practicing economics from Finnigan's Cave?

Me, I'm from the "Zen and the Art of Economics" school.

In particular the

Metaphysics of Value

with which I commenced that rather rambling paper on Knowledge and Value.

I'm summoning up a book which will have a section, probably on "Coarse Economics" (as with "Coarse Fishing")

In fact the book's probably already written out there and I could probably assemble it from the stuff I've posted on ET and elsewhere.

Not easy for an idle bastard like me.

"The future is already here -- it's just not very evenly distributed" William Gibson