Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Author-Name: Piero Roggi
Author-Email:
Author-Workplace-Name: Università di Firenze - Dipartimento di Scienze per l’Economia e l’Impresa
Title: Federico Caffè e il letargo della scienza economica
(Federico Caffè on the lethargy of economic science)
Abstract: Many of Federico Caffè’s writings were dedicated to past and present economists: veritable surveys
of economic thought. What criteria guided his analysis as a historian of economic thought? Firstly,
Federico Caffè believed in scientific revolutions. Not in Kuhn’s way, though. A revolution did not wipe
out completely the significance of past theories, but added layers of knowledge to the existing core,
in an unceasing attempt to reach for the truth. Secondly, he introduced another criterion, along that 
of scientificity, to evaluate economic theories: an ethical one. Theories, particularly in the field of
political economy, should have been selected for their capacity to enhance the well-being of the population,
not only for their internal logical coherence. There were good and bad economic policies:
Caffè had no doubt. Given these criteria, Caffè has been an original historian of economic thought,
with a peculiar and interesting viewpoint on the evolution of the economic science
Classification-JEL: B20, B31, B41, D60, E12
Keywords: metodologia; pensiero economico italiano; Federico Caffè; economia del benessere
(Methodology; Italian economic thought; Federico Caffè; welfare economics)
Journal: Il Pensiero Economico Italiano
Pages: 15-24
Volume: 23
Issue: 2
Year: 2015
File-URL: http://www.libraweb.net/articoli.php?chiave=201506302&rivista=63
Handle: RePEc:pei:journl:v:23:y:2015:2:2:p:15-24