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The discussion on the assumption of complete knowledge or  
complete information has concentrated on the contributions of  
Marshall and Knight.   
 
Should we not bring Walras into the picture? Walras's Elements  
appeared in the 1870s, which predates Marshall's Principles of  
1890.   
 
The introduction of the auctioneer can be seen as an implicit way  
of introducing perfect knowledge. I do not know if Walras actually  
used the term perfect knowledge (or its equivalent) in French. In  
other words I do not know if Walras introduced the perfect  
knowledge assumption explicitly.   
 
But surely he did so implicitly. The problem that faced Walras was  
that the equilibrium price vector needed to be established before  
trade was allowed to take place. To prevent the S & D curves from  
shifting (before trading commenced), Walras introduced the  
auctioneer to establish the equilibrium price vector. From this point  
of view, the Walrasian auctioneer can be viewed as the  
personification of perfect knowledge.   
 
Edgeworth's recontract assumption can presumably also be viewed  
as an implicit way of introducing the perfect knowledge  
assumption.   
 
Chris Torr 
 
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