The contemporary relevance of a Cambridge tradition: economics as political economy, political economy as social theory and ethical theory

In this review essay I set out key aspects of Nuno Martins’ The Cambridge Revival of Political Economy. In so doing I also provide some comments on the current state of economics, since these provide some context for an appreciation of what Martins is trying to achieve. Martins is focused on making the positive case for classical political economy (CPE) as a form of theory that is quite different from the modern mainstream. For Martins that difference is based on its approach to the distribution of a surplus expressed through a social ontology that is based on historical open systems and in which the key aspect of open systems is the institutional and hence deliberative activity by which the surplus is decided, which is ultimately an issue for ethics. It is through a ‘Cambridge tradition’, focusing on Sraffa, Keynes, Lawson and Sen, that CPE, a classical social theory and ethical deliberation are brought together. Bringing them together is an act of synthesis and I conclude by providing a constructive critique of the terms of this synthesis.