Bernard Shaw and the making of Fabian economics

Antonio V. B. Mota Filho ()

Brazilian Journal of Political Economy, 2025, vol. 45, issue 2, 303-319

Abstract: In its origins, economic science was marked by an intense dialogue with other areasof knowledge. As it developed, however, the so-called “scientific” model of economicscame to predominate, whose scope was characterised by a formalist methodological perspective,which restricted the audience for discussion in economics. To reach the majority of thepopulation, economics had to adapt its methodological format, giving up its analytical refinement.The “popular” model of economics thus emerged. The aim of this article is to analyse apoint of intersection between these two models in the economic formulations of the first generationof the Fabian Society, in particular, the contributions of George Bernard Shaw. Knownmainly for his literary texts, Shaw also wrote the articles on economics in the influential bookFabian Essays in Socialism. The article is divided into three sections: an introduction; an exposition of Bernard Shaw’s formulations on economics in the Essays and a conclusion. Themain conclusion of the paper is that, in seeking an intersection between the scientific and popularmodels of economics, Shaw ended up developing an eclectic formulation of economics,sometimes juxtaposing elements of both neoclassical and Marxist economics. JEL Classification: B13; B14.

Keywords: Fabian Society; marginalism; marxism; literature (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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