At the core of economic theory are people, often disconnected and fighting for a toehold on the rungs of success. Society is second, people are first. But, it turns out economic research suggests that individuals don’t exist in some laissez-faire vacuum. Society and humanity matter–friend networks matter. Now the jaded free marketeer might say, “well, of course.” You use friends to claw your way to the top.  Friendship and society are more complex than that. They–human connections and human society–are the context in which markets operate. Interesting stuff; read on The Economics of Loneliness – Economix Blog – NYTimes.com.