1 - Introduction

Summary

[We] make constellations by picking out and putting together certain stars rather than others [and] we make stars by drawing certain boundaries rather than others. Nothing dictates whether the skies shall be marked off into constellations or other objects. We have to make what we find, whether it be the Big Dipper, Sirius, food, fuel, or a stereo system.

Goodman (1985, p. 36)

This is not the book I intended to write. I came into economics from mathematics, and my first work in economics was in general equilibrium theory. As is often true early in a career, concern with the worth of one's activity is not as important as getting on with the work, and so I put aside any interest I had had in appraisal and criticism and instead concentrated on developing a competence in the subject matter itself. But the outsider's perspective remained present in my thoughts. What was general equilibrium theory about? And what did “they” think they were doing in this field? These remained open questions for me even as I proved theorems and linked arguments. Behind the work there remained the questions.

General equilibrium theory is a problem of sorts for many different people. Because it seems central to the discipline of economics, or at least neoclassical economics, and because it is a high-status activity (Nobel prizes to Hicks, Arrow, Debreu, and others), the effort to understand its place and appraise its worth has engaged a large number of individuals.