Ernesto Rossi e la "scienza triste", tra Wicksteed e Robbins (Ernesto Rossi and the "dismal science", between Wicksteed and Robbins)

Antonia Carparelli ()
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Antonia Carparelli: Universita' LUMSA, Roma

Moneta e Credito, 2022, vol. 75, issue 300, 381-391

Abstract: Ernesto Rossi ha affermato in piu' occasioni che l'economista che ha maggiormente influenzato il suo pensiero e' Philip Wicksteed, cui si riconosce il merito di aver completato la "rivoluzione marginalista". Il presente contributo mette in evidenza il forte influsso di Lionel Robbins, le cui opere Rossi studio' estesamente e approfonditamente negli anni del carcere e del confino, e che fu tra l'altro il principale promotore dell'opera di Wicksteed. La linea di pensiero che accomuna Ernesto Rossi a Lionel Robbins parte da Pareto, passa per Wicksteed e approda al federalismo, inteso come quadro istituzionale necessario per la piena affermazione di un ordine economico e politico liberale. Rossi condivide con Robbins l'approccio teorico e il rigore metodologico, compresa l'idea della neutralita' della scienza economica e della possibilita' di far uso dei suoi strumenti nell'ambito di diversi sistemi normativi. Al tempo stesso, nell'applicazione pratica degli strumenti teorici Rossi appare molto vicino al socialismo democratico e liberale britannico, come rappresentato ad esempio da Barbara Wootton nella sua opera Lament for economics. Ernesto Rossi has repeatedly stated that the economist who has most influenced his thinking is Philip Wicksteed, who is credited with completing the "marginalist revolution". The present contribution highlights the strong influence of Lionel Robbins, whose works Rossi extensively and thoroughly studied during the years of prison and confinement, and who was the main promoter of Wicksteed's work. The line of thought that unites Ernesto Rossi and Lionel Robbins starts from Pareto, passes through Wicksteed and reaches to the federalism, understood as the institutional framework necessary for the full affirmation of a liberal economic and political order. Rossi shares with Robbins the theoretical approach and methodological rigor, including the idea of the neutrality of economic science and the possibility of using its tools in the context of different normative systems. In the practical application of theoretical tools, Rossi appears very close to the British democratic and liberal socialism, as represented for example by Barbara Wootton in her work Lament for economics.

Keywords: definition of economics; ethics and economics; economic federalism; liberal socialism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A11 A13 B20 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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