Abstract
The social sciences, and economics in particular, separated from moral and political philosophy in the second half of the 18th century when the results of the myriad of intentional actions of people were perceived to produce regularities resembling the laws of a system. Both Physiocratic thought and Smith’s Wealth of Nations reflect this extraordinary discovery: scientific laws thought to be found only in nature could also be found in society. This extension poses several problems. A serious one refers to the tension of combining individuals’ freedom of action with the scientists’ desire to discover the systematic aspects of the unintended and quite often unpredictable consequences of human action, that is, the desire to arrive at laws characterized by a certain degree of generality and permanence.
This chapter was originally published in The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd edition, 2008. Edited by Steven N. Durlauf and Lawrence E. Blume
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Zamagni, S. (2008). Economic Laws. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_618-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_618-2
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Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-95121-5
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Chapter history
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Latest
Economic Laws- Published:
- 16 March 2017
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_618-2
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Original
Economic Laws- Published:
- 11 November 2016
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_618-1