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A Comment on Ekelund on Thornton

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  • White, Michael V.

Abstract

In a recent article in this Journal, Robert Ekelund (1997) has renewed his criticism of the discussion of price formation in William Thornton's On Labour (1869) and criticized the work of “modern supporters” of Thornton, such as Kenneth Dennis, Philip Mirowski, Takashi Negishi and myself. While that work differs in the precise significance attributed to On Labour, there is agreement that Thornton's critique of contemporary explanations of “the laws of supply and demand” and/or his discussion of price formation do not warrant the negative and dismissive treatment they have often received from historians of economics. Ekelund disagrees. Based on “preposterous notions,” Thornton's work was “worse than nonsense” and, as he did not understand contemporary explanations of supply and demand, he should “receive a grade of ‘F’; (with strongly worded advice to return to the pursuit of poetry and sociology)” (Ekelund, 1997, pp. 11, 20, 21). Five examples are given below showing that this evaluation of On Labour depends on misinterpretation of the meaning, context and significance of Thornton's analysis.

Suggested Citation

  • White, Michael V., 1998. "A Comment on Ekelund on Thornton," Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(3), pages 371-374, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jhisec:v:20:y:1998:i:03:p:371-374_00
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