From Newton to Hobbes: the metaphysical foundations of mainstream economics
追溯主流经济学从牛顿式经验科学转向霍布斯式数学演绎主义的过程，揭示边际主义如何借用霍布斯自然状态理论包装功利主义形而上学，使亲资本主义意识形态成为主流标准。
This paper develops an anti-Whiggish history of economic thought. To achieve this aim, it traces the transition of mainstream economics from a Newtonian inspired empirical science to a Hobbesian inspired mathematical deductivism. Classical Political Economy was self-consciously Newtonian on the basis of its search for empirically grounded real world forces. Amongst its many scientific achievements, this led to a focus on the way that labour is organized in capitalist societies. The pioneering marginalist’s also assumed the mantle of Newton, however their scientific procedures were far more Hobbesian than Newtonian. Without ever acknowledging it, Marginalism draws heavily on a variant of Hobbesian state of nature theory adopted for the allocation of scarce resources. Homo Economicus is the modern equivalent of Hobbesian man, set to solve an optimization problem. By severing Newton’s mathematics from his scientific method, the early marginalist’s successfully packaged a version of utilitarian metaphysics as rigorous scientific progress. This allowed an extant version of pro-capitalist ideology to become the standard bearer for mainstream economics.