Mary- 
 
Julie A. Nelson calls these two different definitions "The Logic of Choice 
or the Study of Provisioning", which is the title of her contribution in M. 
A. Ferber and J.A. Nelson (eds.): _Beyond Economic Man_, 1993, University 
of Chicago.  Her paper discusses these two definitions of economics with 
regard to the analysis of gender. 
 
It is very easy to find textual evidence in Petty, Cantillon, Smith, 
Ricardo, and Marx to support the idea of economics as concerned with 
activities related to the material provisioning of society's members.  You 
will also find this perspective expressed by their modern day followers 
(marxists, sraffians, of various stripes), as well as many ecological 
economists. 
 
The constrained decision-making model (logic of choice) came with the 
marginal revolution, culminated (as others have mentioned) in Robbins' 
definition, and solidified with the subsequent increased formalization in 
the discipline.  It continues to be the hallmark of neoclassical economics 
(of varying types) to this day. 
 
This gets into a whole lot of other fascinating issues, including the 
transition from 'political economy' to 'economics', issues related to the 
scope, method, and object of economic inquiry, and the relation of 
economics to the other social sciences. 
 
Regards, 
 
Mat Forstater 
 
___________________________________ 
 
Mathew Forstater      Department of Economics 
        Gettysburg College     Gettysburg, PA  17325 
 
tel: (717) 337-6668   fax: (717) 337-6251   e-mail: [log in to unmask]