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AMC Waterman quotes from the Edinburgh Review contrasting the the 'English' with the
'foreign' school of political economy.
 
'The English writers, or chrysologists, as M. Cherbuliez would call them, or followers of
Dr Smith (though his own definition of Political Economy differs widely from that of his
successors), define their science as that of the laws which regulate the prduction and
distribution of wealth.'
 
The transition from political economy to economics during the latter part of the 19th
Century involved subtle changes in the definitions of the two disciplines. Beginning with
the French Physiocrats and continuing with Smith, Ricardo, Mill and other classical
writers, political economy could appropriately be defined as the study of wealth and the
laws of its production and distribution. A three factor approach (land, labor and capital)
was invariably a part of their analysis. Economics, when defined, has been referred to as
a study of exchanges or an analysis of the optimum use of scarce resources. The website
below explores the earlier tradition.
 
http://members.tripod.com/~physiocrat 
 
Roy Davidson 
 
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