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The fault line of axiomatization: Walras' linkage of physics with economics

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  • Michael Turk

Abstract

Economists have often aligned the field of economics with physics; in the process seeking to enhance the rigor of economics by mathematizing it. In the late nineteenth century there was no more ardent champion of this view of what economics should become than Leon Walras. His own writings, though, betray a tension between comprehending this mathematization as proceeding in parallel with physics or through a metaphorical analogy with physics. The limitations in Walras' ability to axiomatize economics reveal a flawed effort to establish the foundations of economics by analogy; this difficulty has persisted through the twentieth century.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Turk, 2006. "The fault line of axiomatization: Walras' linkage of physics with economics," The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(2), pages 195-212.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:eujhet:v:13:y:2006:i:2:p:195-212
    DOI: 10.1080/09672560600708011
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. Hausman,Daniel M., 1992. "The Inexact and Separate Science of Economics," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521425230, December.
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