History of Economic Thought by the Eyes of a Structuralist (Part 2. Marshall, «Reorientation of the Theory of Value» and Outsiders)

Abstract

The article represents the second part of structuralist notes on the history of economic thought. The first part dealt with the classical school, and now the emphasis is on the history of marginalists and neoclassicism. It also characterizes outsider economists who believe that the development of science has gone the wrong way, ignoring unproductive economic activities and growth blocking mechanisms. The most significant discoveries pushed to the fringes of the mainstream by authoritative discourse are the variants of unequal exchange and different purchasing value of money considered by Chamberlin and Robinson, as well as the lack of a homogeneous relationship between costs, utility, and price, implicitly present in the works of Schumpeter. With regard to consumer goods and services, the absence of such existence a homogeneous relationship was discovered by Veblen, although it is still considered an exception. However, fund-saving scientific and technological progress makes it a rule to replace machines with new machines that are superior to the old ones both in quality and in price. More productive machines and technologies are also cheaper per unit of useful effect. The history of thought legitimizes many provisions of the modern mainstream, which are particular «marginal» cases. Considering the consequences of the crisis of 2008–2009, one should expect further fragmentation of the history of thought and the loss of its function of legitimizing the directions of modern theory.