Can we be serious? A comment on Mata on genre

There are many lenses through which to analyze the history of economics, the number growing with scholars’ increasingly expansive conceptions of the field over the last few decades. This article offers a brief and affirmative comment on Tiago Mata’s discussion of the use of the concept of genres in history of economics and its application to the study of works that fall under the heading of “popular economics.” Thinking in terms of genre—which draws us to questions of form, style, and purpose—offers a useful vantage point from which to explore the history of economics, one that encourages us to think in a different set of ways about what is being done and how and why, and the implications for understanding the history of economics.