General discussion: economemetics and agency, creativity, and normativity

This chapter addresses some important issues that have not received sufficient attention in the previous chapters. It should be noted, however, that each topic would justify a full paper or perhaps even a book in its own right. Therefore, this general discussion strives for conciseness rather than completeness. Section 7.1 sets off with arguably one of the most widely debated issues in social science, namely the question of agency versus structure - yet, in this case, with a particular focus on the agency of memes. Section 7.2 addresses the implications of a memetic perspective on creativity and novelty. In Sect. 7.3, we turn to some of the normative implications of the (econo-)memetic approach.