Philosophy & The Discourse of Economics

'Samuelsonianism' can be used to refer to what is commonly called the neoclassical or mainstream approach to economics. In this paper I argue that it is this approach that is hindered by a rather contracted methodology, one which over-privileges the language of quantification. However, (to the benefit of economists) I argue that this methodology is itself resultant of a broader intellectual movement – what is called modernism. If we look carefully at the history of economics, much of the stringency that plagues the neoclassical approach can be traced to logical-positivism and the scientism of early ‘analytic’ philosophy. Thus, by considering the role that modernism played in philosophy and mapping its impact on economics, I show how this discourse, the hyper-quantified rhetoric of Samuelsonianism, is a relic of outmoded positivism. Consequently, economics could self-improve by seeking heterogeneity in its discourse and broadening its scope of analysis. While this paper is not an exercise in conceptual analysis per se, it does take language and rhetoric as both its point of departure and primary concern.