Marshall, l'economia classica e la logica della separazione

The paper examines the development over time of Marshall's theoretical position, with the purpose of assessing its place in the history of economic thought. Marshall's work, concerned with the theoretical implications of structural changes in the British economy after the industrial revolution, implied an appraisal of the vitality of the classical theory, out of its original historical context. Both the innovative character of Marshall's early theoretical work and the inner coherence of its later developments are pointed out in this critical essay, where large attention is paid to the Italian literature on the subject. The supposed "transformation" of Marshall's theoretical position in an anti-classical direction, and his alleged refusal of the "classical logic of separation", are analysed and dismissed.