Die „soziale Frage" more geometrico beantwortet

Abstract

Mainstream economics tends to view its historical process of mathematicization as a „powerful, irresistible current of thought" (Debreu), perfectly motivated by the application of deductive methodology to a quantified object-domain. This interpretation stands in sharp contrast to the historical background of mathematical economics as founded by Leon Walras: the French school of political economy following J.-B. Say combines deductivism with a strong resistance to mathematicization. Rather than simply being an emulation of rational mechanics, Walrasian general equilibrium theory is motivated by natural law issues related to the „social question".