After reviewing Samuelson's use of the term "neoclassical synthesis" in relation to both Foundations of Economic Analysis, and his introductory textbook, the paper argues that the use of the term changed as it was taken up by heterodox economists seeking a term to represent the orthodoxy against...

This paper explores Samuelson's concept of the neoclassical synthesis. It is argued that his two main books hold out different types of synthesis. Foundations offered a synthesis based on common mathematical structures and presages the attempts to synthesize economics by Don Patinkin and Robert...