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Sraffa, the ‘marginal’ method and change

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  • Rosselli, Annalisa
  • Trabucchi, Paolo

Abstract

In the preface to Production of Commodities by Means of Commodities Sraffa emphasizes that his book does not make use of the method of marginal magnitudes. This paper, based mainly on the notes that Sraffa wrote over nearly forty years, shows that Sraffa’s rejection of this method, which he calls 'marginism', is not due to some aprioristic methodological preconception, but is part of his views on the appropriate method to deal with actual economic phenomena. Indeed, 'marginism' deals with changes, which occur in time, as if changes were always amenable to the difference between two situations which exist side by side. But change, outside the world of mechanics and in that of social phenomena, does not follow predetermined paths which are known a priori. Therefore, the marginist method appears to Sraffa as constraining economic analysis within particularly rigid patterns inadequate for the study of economics. In the light of this criticism, the paper sheds new light on Sraffa’s attention, which he never relented, for some passages of Marshall’s Principles.

Suggested Citation

  • Rosselli, Annalisa & Trabucchi, Paolo, 2019. "Sraffa, the ‘marginal’ method and change," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 334-340.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:streco:v:51:y:2019:i:c:p:334-340
    DOI: 10.1016/j.strueco.2018.09.006
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. John B. Davis, 2012. "The change in Sraffa's philosophical thinking," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 36(6), pages 1341-1356.
    2. Maria Cristina Marcuzzo, 2024. "Sraffa and His Arguments Against ‘Marginism’," Palgrave Studies in the History of Economic Thought, in: Economic Theories, Protagonists and Facts, chapter 0, pages 277-296, Palgrave Macmillan.
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    5. Stephanie Blankenburg & Richard Arena & Frank Wilkinson, 2012. "Piero Sraffa and 'the true object of economics': the role of the unpublished manuscripts," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 36(6), pages 1267-1290.
    6. Mark Blaug, 2009. "The Trade-Off between Rigor and Relevance: Sraffian Economics as a Case in Point," History of Political Economy, Duke University Press, vol. 41(2), pages 219-247, Summer.
    7. Wicksteed, Philip H., 1888. "The Alphabet of Economic Science," History of Economic Thought Books, McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought, number wicksteed1888.
    8. repec:bla:econom:v:39:y:1972:i:153:p:32-46 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Heinz Kurz & Neri Salvadori, 2005. "Representing the production and circulation of commodities in material terms: On Sraffa's objectivism," Review of Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(3), pages 413-441.
    10. Pierangelo Garegnani, 2024. "On a Turning Point in Sraffa’s Theoretical and Interpretative Position in the Late 1920s," Springer Studies in the History of Economic Thought, in: Roberto Ciccone (ed.), Capital Theory, the Surplus Approach, and Effective Demand, pages 491-525, Springer.
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