Economic analysis, history of economic thought and ontology: the case of Léon Walras

Abstract The aim of this contribution is to explore the nature and meaning of the relation between the history of economic thought (HET) and ontology, focusing specifically on the case of a prominent nineteenth-century economist: Léon Walras. Drawing on this illustrative case, it argues that the history of economic thought remains essential for a deeper understanding of current economic analysis. The interpretation of Walras’s economics proposed is different from the one which is often retained by most of the mainstream economists. It is not founded on individual rational choice but on four fundamental ontological indications which concern the definitions of society, economic agents and the state. This reinterpretation of Walras’s works gives a significant example of the importance of history of economic thought and ontology to better understand the meaning of economic analysis.