This article explores why Smith's work is a turning point in the history of economic thought. The constitution of an economic discourse and the delimitation of the economy sphere are attributed to: i) the specific nature of Smith's moral philosophy; ii) his way of conceiving economic action as...

We investigate the existence of national styles of political economy and suggest the characteristics and determinants of the German, Austrian, French, and English styles. Some methodological implications for the history economic thought are outlined.

This paper investigates the emergence in the Modernity of an economic discourse intended to be autonomous from moral and political philosophy. The article demonstrates that the existence of economics as separated field of knowledge is recent and its creation related to the appearance of market...

This paper examines the emergence of an economic discourse separated from ethics or political philosophy. It argues that the works of Locke are a decisive moment in this process, for disclosing the existence of a sphere of the economy distinct from the sphere of the politics. Furthermore, the...