From the search for natural laws to the discovery of contingent rules in economics

Nicolas Postel ()
Additional contact information
Nicolas Postel: Lille University

The Journal of Philosophical Economics, 2011, vol. 5, issue 1, 35-61

Abstract: In this article, the author defends the idea that one of the positive results of modern economic analysis is the conviction that there is no natural law in economics. Thus, the most thorough scientific research which has tried to provide an analytical foundation for the mythical invisible hand, the “general equilibrium paradigm,” has finally shown that such an equilibration process cannot be formally demonstrated. Hence, we can say that economists cannot demonstrate the existence of a law of “supply and demand” but, more simply, can assert that some causal but contingent relations may exist between price, supply and demand. According to this result, the critical approach of Kenneth John Arrow concludes with the necessity of social and moral rule (for the good functioning of the market). It is, thus, necessary to assume the contingent nature of economic rules, and the absence of natural law, and consequently, to modify economists’ theoretical model.

Keywords: general equilibrium analysis; rules; scientific law (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: B41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://jpe.ro/pdf.php?id=2902 (application/pdf)
http://jpe.ro/?id=revista&p=143 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bus:jphile:v:5:y:2011:i:1:p:35-61

Access Statistics for this article

The Journal of Philosophical Economics is currently edited by Valentin Cojanu

More articles in The Journal of Philosophical Economics from Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies, The Journal of Philosophical Economics Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Valentin Cojanu ().