Tim Anderson’s question of whether political economy is “a distinct
analytical approach” (JAPE, 2004) is important, but I would like to
propose a more specific answer.
The distinctive analytical approach of political economy began in the
1700s and 1800s, and is just as relevant today. Adam Smith, Thomas
Malthus, David Ricardo and JS Mill developed the English, individualist
and empiricist-oriented approach to the analysis of the material
production of goods, services, income and wealth in society. They
accepted the notion, developed by the French Physiocrats and the English
mercantilists, that economic growth arises from the creation of an
economic surplus, but rejected their arguments that the surplus arose
from agriculture and a favourable balance of trade, respectively.
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