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Cambridge Journal of Economics Advance Access published online on May 14, 2009
Cambridge Journal of Economics, doi:10.1093/cje/bep015
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Cambridge Political Economy Society. All rights reserved.

Defending Marshall's ‘masterpiece’: Ralph Souter's critique of Robbins’ Essay

Anthony M. Endres and M. Donoghue*

* Department of Economics, University of Auckland, New Zealand and Department of Economics, University of Notre Dame, Western Australia, respectively

Address for correspondence: Anthony M. Endres, Department of Economics, University of Auckland, Private Mail Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand. Email: a.endres{at}auckland.ac.nz

We examine Ralph W. Souter's defence, in the 1930s, of Marshall's Principles against Robbins’ attempt to recast economics as a ‘purely formal science of implications’. Souter elaborated on Marshall's invocations progressively to increase the realism of economic science and contrasted this perspective on Marshall with Robbins’ atomistic bias, neglect of historical time and irreversibilities, arbitrary restrictions on the scope of economic science and emphasis on logical and mathematical form over content. Souter demonstrates that Robbins takes a Walrasian-inspired perspective on Marshall's equilibrium concept whereas the ‘authentically Marshallian’ equilibrium notion generally incorporates potential for endogenous change. On this and other matters Souter has doctrinal priority in drawing attention to Marshall's incipient ‘evolutionary economics’.

Key Words: equilibrium • evolutionary economics • Marshall • Souter • Robbins' Essay

JEL classifications: B20, B21, B40, B41

Manuscript received May 19, 2008; final version received February 18, 2009.


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