The Methodology of Worldly Philosophy

Nothing comes closer to describing Robert Heilbroner’s economic method than his own phrase Worldly Philosophy. It is remarkable that the title of his first book should remain the most lucid description of his ‘economics’ for over forty years. He has refined the content of his thought over the years but he has never questioned the broad scope of his initial inquiry. He simply paints on a much larger canvas than most economists. Heilbroner works in what has become known as the classical ‘grand tradition’ (Nell 1993b, 1). His scope is more inclusive than most modern economists. Market allocation is not the focus of his work although he admits that markets are inextricably linked to the capitalist social matrix. He is more interested in explaining the ‘nature’ and ‘logic’ of the social order than predicting simple price movements. This implies that he is specifically curious about the dynamics of the system. He wants to know how the system works and why it evolves as it does. Is it driven by some distinct ‘human nature’, or is it a combination of identifiable and predictable sociopolitical forces? This raises a question I have always found fascinating: Can economics be ‘ismi’1 independent? In other words, is economic analysis unique to one particular social structure such as capitalism, socialism or feudalism?