----------------- HES POSTING ----------------- 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 ------------ FOOTER TO HES POSTING ------------ For information, send the message "info HES" to [log in to unmask]