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Éléments d'économie politique pure: ou, Théoriede la richesse sociale
French
- GenresEconomicsNonfiction
491 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1926
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September 11, 2014
This book is a systematic presentation of marginal theory by one of its three independent creators, the others being Jevons of England and Menger in Germany. Walras was proclaimed by Schumpeter as the greatest economist ever. The translation by William Jaffe is superb and complete with extensive notes and cross-references. The book contains detailed mathematical development of the founding theory of equilibrium economics. Noteworthy for its "refutation" of the labor theory of value as developed by Ricardo and J. S. Mill. While Marx is not mentioned, the critique would extend to him as well (Marx is specifically critiqued in Walras's Etudes d'Economie Sociale for founding his economics on the labor theory of value.) Not widely known is that Walras was a self-described "socialist" who proposed that land be nationalized with rents used to support the state. This would alleviate the need for taxation of income, thought Walras, which would free resources for workers to become petite bourgeois. Whatever one thinks of these theories, this is a foundational book, which has been rarely read by Anglo Americans. It should be.
October 8, 2024
ENGLISH
When Political Economy turns into a branch of Applied Mathematics...
One of the architects of the “Marginal Revolution”, Marie-Ésprit-Léon Walras outlines his theory in this book based on three main aspects: (1) principle of diminishing marginal utility; (2) general equilibrium; and (3) broad and deep use of Mathematics.
In a later edition, Walras explicitly mentions Hermann Gossen, William Stanley Jevons and Carl Menger pointing out that they had addressed the issue of the diminishing marginal utility before him, though neither of them knew of the existence of each other's works. Gossen published his work containing the concept of diminishing marginal utility in 1854. Jevons and Menger, between 1871-2, and Walras in 1874.
When compared to Jevons and Menger, Walras is certainly the most complex of all. While Jevons in his book (my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) lays out the foundations of mathematical reasoning well linked to the concept of marginal utility, but does not go much further, Walras — a mining engineer — uses mathematics as an omnipresent tool, often abusing of equations, which practically makes it a technical work, were it not for more philosophic considerations here and there.
Like Jevons, Walras seeks to extract what both call the “purity” of economic reasoning, although curiously the contradiction remains present in the term used to name the discipline by Walras: “Pure Political Economy”. Walras and Jevons clearly try to isolate Economics from Politics attempting to envisage uniquely economic-related phenomena. Eventually, later authors, such as Vilfredo Pareto, take a ride on this epistemological cut and eliminate the word “Political” from “Political Economy”, calling it only “Economics”.
Walras makes a most in-depth and omnipresent use of the mathematical method to demonstrate his reasoning, yet at the same time, like previous economists, he tries to analyze the most varied economic phenomena, such as interest, land rent, currency, tax, etc. The result is a heavy book, difficult to read and not for nothing scantily accessible. Jevons, on the other hand, had the merit of presenting a much leaner and more accessible theory, which does not cover all economic phenomena one by one, although it was full of mathematics. Walras also mentions Menger (my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...), although he points out that Menger's theory of diminishing marginal utility lacks the necessary mathematical proofs.
Walras presents with impressive clarity the concept of diminishing marginal utility in the work. By criticizing previous authors who addressed the issue of value and utility, Walras vehemently argues that, in reality, the decisive factor for value is rarity. In other authors, such as Jevons, the term appears as “scarcity”, and in fact this has become the most adopted term, although Jevons and Menger emphasize more utility as a marker for value.
Another point for which Walras became well known in this work was the concept of “general equilibrium”. Walras deepens the study of the interaction between supply and demand functions in markets and their consequent effects on prices. In this context, free competition in markets is an almost omnipresent premise.
Methodologically, Walras starts out from the model of static equilibrium, then dynamic and, finally, monopolies. In this digression, Walras first concludes in the static modeling phase (where ceteris paribus type of considerations abound or everything else constant, etc.) that supply and demand meet and the resulting price is what reflects the equilibrium. Walras uses the image of the auction to illustrate this dynamic. He then seeks to expand the reasoning to envisage a hypothesis of general equilibrium of factors, in which all products and services produced and marketed would obey the supply and demand functions.
Later — and coinciding with Marx on this point (see my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) — Walras indicates that, in reality, markets present themselves in constant divergence between the supply and demand functions. The author uses the image of a choppy lake to say that supply and demand rarely meet in real markets, although they do occasionally.
Walras is, in a way, the black sheep of the marginalists, as he is often related to socialists who used his reasoning on optimal economic results (although not necessarily fair, as Walras himself points out) to think of a planning auctioneer State which reaches maximum utility. Furthermore, Walras is associated with socialism insofar as, outside the scope of this book, he appears to have advocated a more equitable distribution of land. However, if we stick exclusively to this book, which is considered his main work, Walras is unequivocal in defending free competition as the best engine for obtaining the most useful and efficient market results, in addition to criticizing — albeit discreetly — socialist thought in some passages.
The fact is that Walras (and also Jevons) changes the study of economics forever. It does not seem an exaggeration, however, to say that both place the discipline practically as a branch of Applied Mathematics, a tendency that has been followed very strongly until today.
Regardless of the criticisms made of this new vision, no one less than Joseph Schumpeter, one of the greatest theorists of the capitalist system, considered Walras as one of the greatest economists of all time.
PORTUGUÊS
Quando a Economia Política se tornou um ramo da Matemática Aplicada…
Um dos artífices da “Revolução Marginal”, Marie-Ésprit-Léon Walras delineia sua teoria neste livro com base em três aspectos principais: (1) princípio da utilidade marginal decrescente; (2) equilibro geral; e (3) amplo e aprofundado uso da matemática.
Em edição posterior, Walras faz menção explícita a Hermann Gossen, William Stanley Jevon e Carl Menger, apontando terem eles abordado o tema da utilidade marginal decrescente antes mesmo dele; porém, nenhum deles sabia da existência do trabalho do outro. Gossen publicou sua obra contendo o conceito de utilidade marginal decrescente em 1854. Jevons e Menger, entre 1871-2 e Walras em 1874.
Comparando Walras com Jevons e Menger, Walras é certamente o mais complexo. Se Jevons em seu livro (minha resenha aqui: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) lança as bases do raciocino matemático bem atreladas ao conceito de utilidade marginal decrescente, mas não vai muito além, Walras — um engenheiro de minas — utiliza a matemática como ferramenta onipresente, abusando de equações, o que torna seu trabalho extremamente técnico, não fossem considerações de teor mais filosófico aqui e ali.
Como Jevons, Walras procura extrair aquilo que ambos chamam de “pureza” do raciocino econômico, embora curiosamente a contradição permaneça presente no próprio termo usado para nomear a disciplina por Walras: “Economia Política Pura”. Claramente, o que Walras e Jevons tentam fazer em suas obras é isolar a Economia da Política ao tentar enxergar fenômenos econômicos próprios, que independam de influências de outras disciplinas. Autores posteriores, como Vilfredo Pareto, pegarão carona nesse corte epistemológico e eliminarão o vocábulo “Política” de “Economia Política”, restando apenas “Economia”.
Walras faz uso mais aprofundado e onipresente do método matemático para demonstrar seus raciocínios, mas procura, ao mesmo tempo, como economistas anteriores, analisar os mais variados fenômenos econômicos, como juros, renda da terra, moeda, imposto, etc. O resultado é um livro pesado, difícil de ler e não à toa pouco acessível. Nesse ponto, Jevons teve o mérito de apresentar uma teoria bem mais enxuta e acessível, que não cobre um por um dos fenômenos econômicos, embora recheada de matemática. Walras, por outro lado, também menciona Menger (minha resenha aqui: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...), embora aponte que a teoria da utilidade marginal decrescente elaborada por Menger careça de demonstrações matemáticas necessárias.
Na obra, Walras apresenta com clareza impressionante o conceito de utilidade marginal decrescente. Utilizando-se da crítica a autores anteriores que se debruçaram sobre a questão do valor e da utilidade, Walras defende de modo veemente que, na realidade, o fator decisivo para o valor é a raridade. Em outros autores, como o próprio Jevons, o termo aparece como “escassez” e de fato esse passou a ser o termo mais adotado, embora Jevons e Menger ainda enfatizem mais a utilidade como marker de valor.
Outro ponto pelo qual Walras ficou bastante conhecido nesta obra foi o da conceituação de “equilíbrio geral”. Walras se aprofunda no estudo da interação entre as funções de oferta e demanda nos mercados e seus consequentes efeitos em preços. Nesse contexto, a premissa praticamente onipresente é a livre concorrência nos mercados.
Metodologicamente, Walras parte do modelo de equilíbrio estático para depois dinâmico e ao final os monopólios. Nessa digressão, Walras primeiro conclui na fase de modelagem estática (na qual abundam considerações ceteris paribus ou tudo o mais constante, etc.) que oferta e demanda se encontram e o preço resultante é o que reflete o equilíbrio de ambas as funções. Walras utiliza a figura do leilão para ilustrar essa dinâmica. Ele procura então ampliar o raciocínio para vislumbrar uma hipótese de equilibro geral dos fatores, em que todos os produtos e serviços produzidos e comercializados obedeceriam às funções de oferta e demanda.
Posteriormente — e coincidindo com Marx neste ponto (vide minha resenha aqui: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) — Walras indica que, na realidade, os mercados se apresentam em constante divergência entre as funções de oferta e demanda. De fato, o autor utiliza a imagem de um lago revolto para dizer que oferta e demanda dificilmente se encontram em mercados reais embora o façam ocasionalmente.
Walras é de certa forma a ovelha negra dos marginalistas, pois é frequentemente relacionado a socialistas que utilizaram seu raciocínio de obtenção de resultados econômicos ótimos (ainda que não necessariamente justos, como ele mesmo aponta) para pensar em um Estado-leiloeiro planejador que atinja a utilidade máxima. Além disso, Walras é associado ao socialismo na medida em que, fora do âmbito deste livro, parece ter defendido uma distribuição mais equitativa de terras. No entanto, se nos ativermos exclusivamente a este livro, que é considerado sua obra principal, Walras é inequívoco em defender a livre concorrência como o melhor motor para obtenção dos resultados de mercado mais úteis e eficientes, além de criticar — embora discretamente — o pensamento socialista em alguns trechos.
O fato é que Walras (e também Jevons) muda para sempre o estudo da Economia. Não parece exagero, no entanto, dizer que ambos colocam a disciplina praticamente como um ramo da Matemática Aplicada, tendência que foi e vem sendo seguida até hoje com muita força. Independentemente de críticas que se façam a essa nova visão, não menos que Joseph Schumpeter, um dos maiores teóricos do sistema capitalista, considerava Walras como um dos maiores economistas de todos os tempos.
When Political Economy turns into a branch of Applied Mathematics...
One of the architects of the “Marginal Revolution”, Marie-Ésprit-Léon Walras outlines his theory in this book based on three main aspects: (1) principle of diminishing marginal utility; (2) general equilibrium; and (3) broad and deep use of Mathematics.
In a later edition, Walras explicitly mentions Hermann Gossen, William Stanley Jevons and Carl Menger pointing out that they had addressed the issue of the diminishing marginal utility before him, though neither of them knew of the existence of each other's works. Gossen published his work containing the concept of diminishing marginal utility in 1854. Jevons and Menger, between 1871-2, and Walras in 1874.
When compared to Jevons and Menger, Walras is certainly the most complex of all. While Jevons in his book (my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) lays out the foundations of mathematical reasoning well linked to the concept of marginal utility, but does not go much further, Walras — a mining engineer — uses mathematics as an omnipresent tool, often abusing of equations, which practically makes it a technical work, were it not for more philosophic considerations here and there.
Like Jevons, Walras seeks to extract what both call the “purity” of economic reasoning, although curiously the contradiction remains present in the term used to name the discipline by Walras: “Pure Political Economy”. Walras and Jevons clearly try to isolate Economics from Politics attempting to envisage uniquely economic-related phenomena. Eventually, later authors, such as Vilfredo Pareto, take a ride on this epistemological cut and eliminate the word “Political” from “Political Economy”, calling it only “Economics”.
Walras makes a most in-depth and omnipresent use of the mathematical method to demonstrate his reasoning, yet at the same time, like previous economists, he tries to analyze the most varied economic phenomena, such as interest, land rent, currency, tax, etc. The result is a heavy book, difficult to read and not for nothing scantily accessible. Jevons, on the other hand, had the merit of presenting a much leaner and more accessible theory, which does not cover all economic phenomena one by one, although it was full of mathematics. Walras also mentions Menger (my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...), although he points out that Menger's theory of diminishing marginal utility lacks the necessary mathematical proofs.
Walras presents with impressive clarity the concept of diminishing marginal utility in the work. By criticizing previous authors who addressed the issue of value and utility, Walras vehemently argues that, in reality, the decisive factor for value is rarity. In other authors, such as Jevons, the term appears as “scarcity”, and in fact this has become the most adopted term, although Jevons and Menger emphasize more utility as a marker for value.
Another point for which Walras became well known in this work was the concept of “general equilibrium”. Walras deepens the study of the interaction between supply and demand functions in markets and their consequent effects on prices. In this context, free competition in markets is an almost omnipresent premise.
Methodologically, Walras starts out from the model of static equilibrium, then dynamic and, finally, monopolies. In this digression, Walras first concludes in the static modeling phase (where ceteris paribus type of considerations abound or everything else constant, etc.) that supply and demand meet and the resulting price is what reflects the equilibrium. Walras uses the image of the auction to illustrate this dynamic. He then seeks to expand the reasoning to envisage a hypothesis of general equilibrium of factors, in which all products and services produced and marketed would obey the supply and demand functions.
Later — and coinciding with Marx on this point (see my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) — Walras indicates that, in reality, markets present themselves in constant divergence between the supply and demand functions. The author uses the image of a choppy lake to say that supply and demand rarely meet in real markets, although they do occasionally.
Walras is, in a way, the black sheep of the marginalists, as he is often related to socialists who used his reasoning on optimal economic results (although not necessarily fair, as Walras himself points out) to think of a planning auctioneer State which reaches maximum utility. Furthermore, Walras is associated with socialism insofar as, outside the scope of this book, he appears to have advocated a more equitable distribution of land. However, if we stick exclusively to this book, which is considered his main work, Walras is unequivocal in defending free competition as the best engine for obtaining the most useful and efficient market results, in addition to criticizing — albeit discreetly — socialist thought in some passages.
The fact is that Walras (and also Jevons) changes the study of economics forever. It does not seem an exaggeration, however, to say that both place the discipline practically as a branch of Applied Mathematics, a tendency that has been followed very strongly until today.
Regardless of the criticisms made of this new vision, no one less than Joseph Schumpeter, one of the greatest theorists of the capitalist system, considered Walras as one of the greatest economists of all time.
PORTUGUÊS
Quando a Economia Política se tornou um ramo da Matemática Aplicada…
Um dos artífices da “Revolução Marginal”, Marie-Ésprit-Léon Walras delineia sua teoria neste livro com base em três aspectos principais: (1) princípio da utilidade marginal decrescente; (2) equilibro geral; e (3) amplo e aprofundado uso da matemática.
Em edição posterior, Walras faz menção explícita a Hermann Gossen, William Stanley Jevon e Carl Menger, apontando terem eles abordado o tema da utilidade marginal decrescente antes mesmo dele; porém, nenhum deles sabia da existência do trabalho do outro. Gossen publicou sua obra contendo o conceito de utilidade marginal decrescente em 1854. Jevons e Menger, entre 1871-2 e Walras em 1874.
Comparando Walras com Jevons e Menger, Walras é certamente o mais complexo. Se Jevons em seu livro (minha resenha aqui: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) lança as bases do raciocino matemático bem atreladas ao conceito de utilidade marginal decrescente, mas não vai muito além, Walras — um engenheiro de minas — utiliza a matemática como ferramenta onipresente, abusando de equações, o que torna seu trabalho extremamente técnico, não fossem considerações de teor mais filosófico aqui e ali.
Como Jevons, Walras procura extrair aquilo que ambos chamam de “pureza” do raciocino econômico, embora curiosamente a contradição permaneça presente no próprio termo usado para nomear a disciplina por Walras: “Economia Política Pura”. Claramente, o que Walras e Jevons tentam fazer em suas obras é isolar a Economia da Política ao tentar enxergar fenômenos econômicos próprios, que independam de influências de outras disciplinas. Autores posteriores, como Vilfredo Pareto, pegarão carona nesse corte epistemológico e eliminarão o vocábulo “Política” de “Economia Política”, restando apenas “Economia”.
Walras faz uso mais aprofundado e onipresente do método matemático para demonstrar seus raciocínios, mas procura, ao mesmo tempo, como economistas anteriores, analisar os mais variados fenômenos econômicos, como juros, renda da terra, moeda, imposto, etc. O resultado é um livro pesado, difícil de ler e não à toa pouco acessível. Nesse ponto, Jevons teve o mérito de apresentar uma teoria bem mais enxuta e acessível, que não cobre um por um dos fenômenos econômicos, embora recheada de matemática. Walras, por outro lado, também menciona Menger (minha resenha aqui: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...), embora aponte que a teoria da utilidade marginal decrescente elaborada por Menger careça de demonstrações matemáticas necessárias.
Na obra, Walras apresenta com clareza impressionante o conceito de utilidade marginal decrescente. Utilizando-se da crítica a autores anteriores que se debruçaram sobre a questão do valor e da utilidade, Walras defende de modo veemente que, na realidade, o fator decisivo para o valor é a raridade. Em outros autores, como o próprio Jevons, o termo aparece como “escassez” e de fato esse passou a ser o termo mais adotado, embora Jevons e Menger ainda enfatizem mais a utilidade como marker de valor.
Outro ponto pelo qual Walras ficou bastante conhecido nesta obra foi o da conceituação de “equilíbrio geral”. Walras se aprofunda no estudo da interação entre as funções de oferta e demanda nos mercados e seus consequentes efeitos em preços. Nesse contexto, a premissa praticamente onipresente é a livre concorrência nos mercados.
Metodologicamente, Walras parte do modelo de equilíbrio estático para depois dinâmico e ao final os monopólios. Nessa digressão, Walras primeiro conclui na fase de modelagem estática (na qual abundam considerações ceteris paribus ou tudo o mais constante, etc.) que oferta e demanda se encontram e o preço resultante é o que reflete o equilíbrio de ambas as funções. Walras utiliza a figura do leilão para ilustrar essa dinâmica. Ele procura então ampliar o raciocínio para vislumbrar uma hipótese de equilibro geral dos fatores, em que todos os produtos e serviços produzidos e comercializados obedeceriam às funções de oferta e demanda.
Posteriormente — e coincidindo com Marx neste ponto (vide minha resenha aqui: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) — Walras indica que, na realidade, os mercados se apresentam em constante divergência entre as funções de oferta e demanda. De fato, o autor utiliza a imagem de um lago revolto para dizer que oferta e demanda dificilmente se encontram em mercados reais embora o façam ocasionalmente.
Walras é de certa forma a ovelha negra dos marginalistas, pois é frequentemente relacionado a socialistas que utilizaram seu raciocínio de obtenção de resultados econômicos ótimos (ainda que não necessariamente justos, como ele mesmo aponta) para pensar em um Estado-leiloeiro planejador que atinja a utilidade máxima. Além disso, Walras é associado ao socialismo na medida em que, fora do âmbito deste livro, parece ter defendido uma distribuição mais equitativa de terras. No entanto, se nos ativermos exclusivamente a este livro, que é considerado sua obra principal, Walras é inequívoco em defender a livre concorrência como o melhor motor para obtenção dos resultados de mercado mais úteis e eficientes, além de criticar — embora discretamente — o pensamento socialista em alguns trechos.
O fato é que Walras (e também Jevons) muda para sempre o estudo da Economia. Não parece exagero, no entanto, dizer que ambos colocam a disciplina praticamente como um ramo da Matemática Aplicada, tendência que foi e vem sendo seguida até hoje com muita força. Independentemente de críticas que se façam a essa nova visão, não menos que Joseph Schumpeter, um dos maiores teóricos do sistema capitalista, considerava Walras como um dos maiores economistas de todos os tempos.
March 1, 2018
Absolutely incredible. The journey through this book was a mind blowing experience. Prior to this, the only mathematical economics I had really experienced was John Maynard Keynes. After reading Elements, I feel thoroughly refreshed with an understanding of how marginal economical philosophies like the ones espoused by Carl Menger, can be mathematically adapted. The only thing I have to say regarding his theories are this: while he is intelligent and his theories are sound, by not dwelling too much on the psychological properties unique to producers and buyers, like Carl Menger does, he does lose an essence of the different realities of the situation of these two parties. Through reading Carl Menger, you come away with the notion that natural monopolies are significant in an economy, and it is how it grows in the first place. With Leon Walras, his ideas on this are simply that they are run by the state. This should show you what kind of author you are dealing with here.
Now. The actual equations are tremendously detailed. In a given equation for the cost of a good, you could find most questions in economics represented in the formula itself. It seems to represent what is essentially the sum of the cost of productive services used to produce the good, whether they be fixed or circulatory. In addition to this the price of anything is defined in terms of a capital good, whose value can be tied to another good, in the case of bimetallism for example, to determine the value of that good, for different goods that are payed for with that metal. In fact, the section on Bimetallism is by far one of the most elaborate, mathematically intricate explanations I have ever seen elaborated on the subject. It is for this reason, of course, that I would hope digital commodities to grow in popularity, so we may see the kind of value matching from those currencies, which by Walras' admission would help stabilize the monetary unit much more than simply lowering the interest rate temporarily to make it so QV = OP. We all know the quantity theory of money is the enemy of most economists, and it almost seems like Walras is trying to say he has an answer for this.
Although that being said, this book is tremendously descriptive and not very prescriptive at all. In fact, Walras makes this distinction at the beginning of the book. An absolutely incredible analysis of economics which is not dated in the slightest, or even close to being untrue. Please read if you have read Carl Menger or John Maynard Keynes and want a thorough, in-depth discussion of marginality in Economics.
Now. The actual equations are tremendously detailed. In a given equation for the cost of a good, you could find most questions in economics represented in the formula itself. It seems to represent what is essentially the sum of the cost of productive services used to produce the good, whether they be fixed or circulatory. In addition to this the price of anything is defined in terms of a capital good, whose value can be tied to another good, in the case of bimetallism for example, to determine the value of that good, for different goods that are payed for with that metal. In fact, the section on Bimetallism is by far one of the most elaborate, mathematically intricate explanations I have ever seen elaborated on the subject. It is for this reason, of course, that I would hope digital commodities to grow in popularity, so we may see the kind of value matching from those currencies, which by Walras' admission would help stabilize the monetary unit much more than simply lowering the interest rate temporarily to make it so QV = OP. We all know the quantity theory of money is the enemy of most economists, and it almost seems like Walras is trying to say he has an answer for this.
Although that being said, this book is tremendously descriptive and not very prescriptive at all. In fact, Walras makes this distinction at the beginning of the book. An absolutely incredible analysis of economics which is not dated in the slightest, or even close to being untrue. Please read if you have read Carl Menger or John Maynard Keynes and want a thorough, in-depth discussion of marginality in Economics.
December 8, 2017
For context, I read this because Walras is credited with developing the idea of marginal utility. He certainly deserves credit. I also read Menger for the same reason and their books are drastically different. Menger is content to develop the idea and present it in very basic numeric form. Walras is determined to move economics from art to a proper science and tries to present everything in the language of mathematics. Walras' approach did not resonate with me, but someone who speaks the language of mathematics more fluently than I might really appreciate it. Additionally, the math was very abstract and focused on defining relationships rather than calculating real world economics. I don't mean that as a criticism, but just understand what you are getting into. I had a very hard time following it, but that is likely my fault, not his.
The best idea for me was from the following quote: "Progress is, indeed, nothing but a dimunition in the intensities of last wants satisfied, i.e. in the raretes of final products, in a country with an increasing population." Raretes is his word for utility. I thought this was a great way to frame the goal of economics and it helped me think about economics from a fresh angle.
Bottom line, this was a difficult read for me and I took a long break in the middle. If you want a historic glimpse into the development of marginal utility, I would suggest Menger instead, unless you are very mathematically inclined. It added to my understanding, but probably not enough to justify the mental strain.
The best idea for me was from the following quote: "Progress is, indeed, nothing but a dimunition in the intensities of last wants satisfied, i.e. in the raretes of final products, in a country with an increasing population." Raretes is his word for utility. I thought this was a great way to frame the goal of economics and it helped me think about economics from a fresh angle.
Bottom line, this was a difficult read for me and I took a long break in the middle. If you want a historic glimpse into the development of marginal utility, I would suggest Menger instead, unless you are very mathematically inclined. It added to my understanding, but probably not enough to justify the mental strain.
January 21, 2020
All economics students recall meeting Walras and his money-less exchange economy for the first time. In introductory and intermediate macroeconomics courses, when studying Keynes, Hicks and Patinkin, Professor Walras is portrayed in a unflattering light, even being characterized by some lecturers as being the general equilibrium economics equivalent of a heliocentric concept of the universe. In more advanced courses, we began to appreciate that Walras laid the foundations on which advancements in neo-classical and subsequently Keynesian theory would rest. However, to find someone who actually read Walras cover to cover (yours truly, included) proved elusive. Decades after promising a teacher I would read the work in the original, I finally have. Whilst "otherworldly" in many aspects, the scholarship is impressive. The reasoning underlying the theory is tight and defensible in its context. I plan to reread Patinkin’s Money, Interest and Prices when time permits and expect I will appreciate having spent time with one of his key antecedents.
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December 4, 2017I think ths the best book i have read it
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