The Making of Neoclassical Economics

Book excerpt: First published in 1990, this unique explanation of the rise of neoclassical economics views social change as an engine promoting change in theory. It attempts to develop a theory of the origins, consolidation and rise to dominance of the neoclassical school of thought. In so doing, it addresses the contest between the labour and utility theories of value; both are placed in historical context, and reasons are offered for the relative success of each in particular historical periods. It is argued that the eventual dominance of neoclassicism, a theory based on the social changes then taking place, resulted not from its scientific superiority but from its non-social perspective which ignores the social order upon which it depends.