Three routes to Stuart Mill’s political economy: Reflections on the method, the economic man and the social order

Abstract

John Stuart Mill's methodological approach to Political Economy represents a pluralistic and evolutionary perspective that transcends strictly empirical, positivist, or abstract theoretical frameworks. This paper identifies three key intellectual paths derived from Mill’s thought. The first two align with neoclassical economics: abstraction and mathematical formalization, and the concept of homo economicus. Mill separated abstract economic science from its practical application, going beyond the need to integrate auxiliary hypotheses and disturbances. He also viewed economic agents as shaped by social and cultural contexts, in contrast to the rational individual seeking to maximize utility. The third path, methodological pluralism, and historical-institutional analysis, reflects Mill’s broader social philosophy. Rejecting excessive formalism, he emphasized the evolutionary nature of economic phenomena. His critique of the "Ricardian vice" influenced economists such as Marshall, Keynes, and Schumpeter, advocating for an approach that integrates historical and institutional perspectives into economic theory.