Political Economy
Political Economy by Branko Horvat, University of Zagreb Economic Science was first called political economy by an unimportant mercantilist writer, Montchretien de Watteville, in 1615 ( Traicte de l'oeconomie politique ). The wod 'economy' dates back to ancient Greeks for whom it meant principles of household management. Montchretien argued that 'the science of wealth acquisition is common to the state as well as the family' and therefore added the adjective 'political'. The term had not been accepted immediately, and it was only in 1767 that it reappeared in the Inquiry into the Principles of Political Economy by James Steuart, the last precursor of classical economists. With the advent of classical economics, the term came into general use and remained so throughout the entire ninteenth century. It meant economics as it had just emerged as one of the social social sciences. English and French authors vacillated between Staatewirtshaft , Nati...