The article comments on the contributions by Aldo Montesano and Roberto Cellini in this number, in particular focussing on the evolution of economic thought and the changing definitions of economics and of political economy. It is here argued that the historical evolution of the discipline...

The rhetoric of positivism had a profound effect on the worldview and practice of economists in the middle of the last century. Though this influence has greatly diminished, it still may be found in the attitude of many economists towards the history of their discipline. This paper traces the...

The current global crisis has shown the limitations of the mainstream approach. We trace the origins of the limitations of the dominant neoclassical views to the capital debates and to the rise to dominance of intertemporal general equilibrium. The limited use of the Arrow­Debreu model, which...

This note discusses some ideas in regards to the character, method, and identity of historians of economic thought. They may be considered “generalist” economists, who hold knowledge of general theories. This knowledge allows them to establish links between different fields of specialization...

The vast majority of pre-Classical and of many Classical economists thought that it was natural to incorporate value judgments and norms in their economic reasoning. However, there was a gradual dominance of the idea of a neutral or value-free economic science which gained momentum with the...

This essay discusses the following two hypotheses. The first one is based on the epistemological proposal which we have named the principle of discontinuity. It asserts that certain developments in the history of economic thought involve theoretical breaks which can only be fully explained by...

In the paper I offer some vignettes on my relationship, both professional and personal, with Mark Blaug, and by way of example reflect on his impact on the history of economics.

This paper deals with the analytical weakness of a number of papers which are published in the journals of history of economic thought. The aim is to highlight the need to combine the historical sensibility with both the logical consistency and the formal rigour of the analysis.

There is a persistent aversion towards methodological discourse by most mainstream economists. Frank Hahn (1992) exemplified this attitude and provoked a number of reactions concerning the role and the reasons for methodological aversion. After offering a categorization of the main explanations...

The article discusses the contribution by Aldo Montesano in this number, with a special focus on the definitions of economics and of political economy. In trying to answer if economics is a moral discipline and if it is a science, the article highlights that different schools of economists have...