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Date:
Fri Mar 31 17:18:18 2006
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From:
[log in to unmask] (Ana Maria A. F. Bianchi)
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===================== HES POSTING ====================== 
 
Long have I been interested in this issue. The first time I decided 
to research it was when I was beginning to write a book on 'The 
Pre-History of Economics - From Machiavelli to Adam Smith' (published 
in Portuguese in 1988). I found some good clues in the 
Appendix to Katouzian's book Ideology and Method in Economics 
(McMillan, 1980).  
 
A few points are worthwile mentioning:  
 
1. The etymological implications of the expression 'Political Economy' 
are well known, and can be analysed with the help of concepts borrowed 
from the sociology of  knowledge.  
 
2. There are also some 'ideological' implications. Throughout the times 
the expression referred to a certain approach to economic problems, as 
with the German Historical School or with Marxian economics.   
 
3. The transition from Political Economy to Economics is clearly 
connected with the advent of Marginalism. It was sponsored by people like 
Walras, who began to talk about 'Pure Economics' in his books.  
 
4. There is a further linguistic dimension to be considered, as Oskar 
Lange puts in the Foreword of his book. Whereas the English language has a 
specific expression for the 'neoclassical' approach to economic theory, 
the same does not hold for Latin languages. In French, Italian, Spanish 
and Portuguese there is not a specific translation for Economics. The 
words for Political Economy are 'Economia Politica', while the word for 
Economics is 'Economia'. The latter designates both economic science 
(economics) and the economy of a country.  
 
5. In part for this reason, many Latin languages still preserve the 
expression 'political economy' alongside economics, in spite of the 
internationalization process that economics is experiencing in late 
twentieth century, both as a field of knowledge and as a profession. There 
is not a necessary association between the expression and Marxian economic 
thought. 
 
6. The maintenance of the expression 'Political Economy' has clear 
political and ideological implications. (It isn't trivial, as Perelman 
argued). It says something about the specific form in which economics is 
constructed in most European countries, in turn closely associated to the 
important role of economists as policy makers. We can learn more about 
this in a special 1991 issue of Kyklos. 
 
7. There is a curious and somewhat paradoxical situation in countries like 
Brazil, which remained for a long time strongly influenced by the French 
culture - although not so much in the case of economics. French influence 
in economics further shrunk after the sixties, when the first graduate 
programs were created, based on US models. It did not disappear, however, 
and it remains strong in philosophy and the social sciences (sociology, 
anthropology).   
 
8. The semantic problem persists of not having a Portuguese word for 
'economics'.  This has professional implications. In most if not all 
Latin American countries, economists have persistently played important 
roles in the definition and implementation of economic and social 
policies. As it is well known, the dynamics of  Latin American economies 
still relies heavily on the Government. New winds are blowing 
(globalization, privatization, technological changes etc.) are not likely 
to induce radical changes in this overall picture.  
 
9. Was transition towards Economics benefitial? In some senses, no. 
Although we should no longer think in 'embeddedness' terms, as pointed, 
the political dimension of economics should be still kept in mind, 
specially when dealing with subjects such as Welfare and Development. In 
other words, economics should keep its prescriptive role, and it seems 
that most economists in countries like Brazil are convinced of this. 
 
With little elaboration, these are some considerations that I thought 
might contribute to this ongoing discussion.  
 
Ana Maria Bianchi 
Universidade de Sao Paulo, Depto. de Economia 
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