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The first time I heard the term "thin" to describe anything was in Rawls's "Theory of
Justice."  Rawls uses the term to apply to a thin theory of the good which was all he
needed for the first two thirds of his book.  There is no negative connotation for his
usage that I can detect.  In part III, he needs a "full" or "comprehensive" theory of the
good for the purposes of that part of his work.  See pages 397ff.  With regard to the
history of economics, it is Rawls usage which I had in mind when I read recent comments
about thin and thick histories.  Both may be useful and serve different purposes.
 
Jim Wible 
University of New Hampshire 
 
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