�Openness� as a Methodological Principle of Sraffa�s Economic Thinking

John Davis

No 2019-03, Working Papers and Research from Marquette University, Center for Global and Economic Studies and Department of Economics

Abstract: This paper discusses the impact of Sraffa�s thinking on economics. It argues increasing specialization in research is producing an �all trees, no forest� fragmentation of economics that creates opportunities for a return to concerns that motivated classical political economy. It associates this with a methodological conception of what a more pluralistic economics involves, and applies this to relationships between production and distribution. A methodological conception of �openness� is traced to a 1931 turning point in Sraffa�s thinking when he used an open-closed distinction to explain the relationship between production and distribution, and engaged in a philosophy of science reasoning reminiscent of systems theory. The paper argues there are important parallels between Sraffa and Gramsci�s thinking regarding the open-closed distinction.

Keywords: Sraffa; political economy; fragmentation; open-closed; pluralism; Gramsci (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: B2 B4 B5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hme, nep-hpe, nep-ore and nep-pke
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:mrq:wpaper:2019-03

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