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Suggested bibliography:
D. Moldovan, E. Fura. Programa analitic la disciplina Doctrine economice. ASEM, cat.
Teorie economic i doctrine economice Editura ARC, Chiinu 2003.
D. Moldovanu. Doctrine i economiti celebri, Editura ARC, Chiinu, 2011.
E. Feura, V. Cun. Doctrine economice, vol. I, curs i aplicaii, ASEM, Chiinu, 2003.
Gh. Popescu. Evoluia gndirii economice. Ed. a IV-a, Bucureti 2009.
. . . , , 1998.
M. Blaug. Economic theory in retrospect, Homewood, Illinois, 1962.
Roger Backhouse. The Penguin history of economics, Penguin Books, London, 2002.
R. Ekelund, R. Hbert. A History of economic theory and method, McGraw Hill, 4-th edition, 1997.
W. E. Kuhn. The evolution of the economic thought, South-Western Publishing, Cincinnati, 1970.
Barnes & Noble. Readings in economics, New-York, 1949.
Simultaneously, it is recommended to find the original readings at the following addresses:
http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au The University of Adelaide (Australia)
http://www.ibiblio.org The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (USA)
http://homepage.newschool.edu/het/essays The History of Economic Thought Website The New
School University (New York, USA)
http://www.mises.org/books/economicdoctrine.pdf Ludwig von Mises Institute (Austria), with a
book of particular interest: Economic doctrine and method, an historical sketch by J oseph A.
Schumpeter. New York, Oxford University Press, 1954.
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What is the economic way of thinking ?
It is concerned with material welfare the Fundamental Dilemma
of the Economic Activity up to XXI century ?? since now
Material welfare in the short run ?? in the long run
Three main factors that influence the development of the
economic thought (way of thinking):
Personality Time = Th + W + F ?

Nation Time & Space

Religion
Nation-state
Religion
Personality
Economic
thought
3
The components of the economic thought:
economic idea economic theory economic school
economic doctrine (*) economic mainstream
The logic of development of the economic thought
components:
The economic ideas do not disappear, they are generated, may be
forgotten and then rediscovered;
Every new doctrine appears just when the previous one discredits
itself: (+)(-) (+)(-)
The Economic Doctrines course aims at:
1. Presenting the integral picture of the development of the
economic thought to avoid the dogmatization (?) of any
doctrine microeconomics (?) & macroeconomics (?);
2. Grasping the economic ideas & theories appropriate for the
development of (my) personality;
3. Highlighting the economic doctrines (recipes) suitable for the
development of (my) country;
The title of the course is also determined by the limited time allocated to the
course in AESM compared to the Western Universities (2-3 semesters
of History of Economic Thought)
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Theme 1. The object of study of the Economic
Doctrines. Ancient and Medieval Economic
Thought.
I. The object of study and the method of
the Economic Doctrines.
II. Economic thought in Antiquity. The Elite
Doctrine.
III. Economic Thought in Middle Ages.
Social Justice Doctrine.
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I. The object of study and the method of the
Economic Doctrines.
The object of study :
The genesis of the main theories,
doctrines & mainstreams of
The essence economic thought from our
country and from the
The social role whole world.

The research method:
Formal logics analysis, induction, deduction;
Dialectics the interplay of thesis, antithesis and synthesis
allows grasping: the evolution the involution the
revolution in the Economic Thought;
Systemic approach (system builders: A. Smith, K. Marx+...);
Case studies (economic miracles made by German nation, + )
6
I. The object of study and the method of the
Economic Doctrines.
The research results:
Formally, the History of Economic Doctrines (Thought) periods:
I According to the object of the economic thought:
Ancient economic thought II-nd millenary before Christ till the
middle of the I-st millenary after Christ;
Medieval economic thought the middle of the I-st millenary till the
middle of the II-nd millenary after Christ;
Modern economic thought from XVI-th century till XIX-th century;
Contemporary economic thought XX-th and XXI-st centuries.
II According to the quality or the theoretical level of the economic
thought:
The pre-scientific period or the prehistory from the beginnings till the
middle of the XVII-th century;
The scientific period from the middle of XVII-th century till nowadays.
7
II. Economic thought in Antiquity. The Elite doctrine.
Xenophone, Plato and Aristotle.
At that time, scholars mostly concerned with political, military and
spiritual problems their economic knowledge was exposed only
by the way.
Plato and Aristotle the concept of an ideal society:
the wealth ?? the (spiritual) elite of the society, the land aristocracy
the slavery ?
Plato: aristocratic elitarian communism three classes in the
society: the philosophers, the military and the producers:
Common proprietorship - ?
Private property - ?

Aristotle:
Plato's idea about the community of the goods and families ?? the
human selfish nature;
justifying the slavery the "Domination and Submission Law",
characteristic both for nature and society, valid for the individuals,
but also for the nations.
8
III. Economic Thought in Middle Ages. The Social
Justice doctrine.
At the beginning of the Middle Ages, the European society:
deep political, economic and cultural crisis;
the rise of Christian Church the appearance of universities dominated by it;
the scholastics and the canonists developed the economic knowledge (ideas of
the Greek philosophers (Aristotle) + ideas from the Bible)
The Social Justice Doctrine:
Christian principle: every right implies some duty people should be moderate,
unselfish.
the most important economic issue the determination of the right price and of
the right wage.
Saint Thomas Aquinas the right price is established according to:
The quantity of labor in order to produce a given commodity;
The social and material status of the producer.
The right wage should allow the working person and his family to live according to
their social status.
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Theme 2. The mercantilism
I. The theoretical fundamentals of the
mercantilism.
II. The mercantilism as an economic policy
and its national peculiarities.
III. The importance of the mercantilism for
the development of the economic
thought.
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I. The theoretical fundamentals of the
mercantilism.
The term mercantilism "mercato" & "mercantile" (Italian)
The Mercantilism: about three centuries 1450 - 1750 = Important
geographical discoveries + Formation of strong & centralized nation-
states + Rise of Protestantism (moral & intellectual revolution in
Europe)
The mercantilism as theory was concerned with three main problems:
The individual and national wealth;
The origin & role of the profit.
Mercantilists the concept of a balance of trade including both visible and
invisible (shipping expenses, insurance, etc.) items.
The relationship between prices level, the amount of commodities
and the amount of money mediating the transactions. Jean Bodin
was one of the first exposing the Quantitative Theory of Money (?)
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II. The mercantilism as an economic policy and
its national peculiarities.
The mercantilism was an alliance of power between the monarch
and the merchant-capitalist:
The state was planning and regulating the economic life in a
specific way: detailed state regulations in some economic
sectors, little or no regulation in others, taxation
and subsidization of particular industries and
restricted entry in many markets.
Legal monopolies in the form of franchises and patents
granting exclusive trading rights to a particular
merchant or league of merchants (East India Company etc.).
Use of the political process to secure monopoly gains was a
form of rent seeking.
As to the state economic policy, mercantilists suggested applying
protectionist trade policy + national economy rules (valid
for the R. Moldova?)
12
In the matter of state economic policy, mercantilists
suggested applying some national economy rules
(valid for the R. Moldova?)
That every inch of a country's soil be utilized for agriculture, mining or
manufacturing;
That all raw materials found in a country be used in domestic
manufacture, since finished goods have a higher value than raw
materials;
That a large, working population be encouraged;
That all export of gold and silver be prohibited and all domestic money
be kept in circulation;
That all imports of foreign goods be discouraged as much as possible;
That where certain imports are indispensable, they be obtained at first
hand, in exchange for other domestic goods instead of gold and silver;
That as much as possible, imports be confined to raw materials that can
be finished at home;
That opportunities be constantly sought for selling a country's surplus
manufactures to foreigners, so far as necessary, for gold and silver;
That no importation be allowed if such goods are sufficiently and suitably
supplied at home. (Fillip von Hornick, Austrian mercantilist.)
13
National peculiarities of the Mercantilism.
The early mercantilism (the monetary system) increasing by
all the ways the money reserves (the stock of precious metals)
of the country. In Spain, Portugal bullionist mercantilism.
The late, the developed mercantilism (the trade balance
system):
gave up the rigid settlements intended to attract and stock a
biggest quantity of precious metals.
boosting the foreign trade of the country an active trade
balance.
In France the industrial mercantilism developing the
national manufactures. Colbert elaborated a lot of programs
to develop both royal and private manufactures, especially those
capable to export.
English commercial mercantilism developing not only the
visible exports, but also the invisible ones (shipping services,
insurance services and so on). Great Britain succeeded to create
the most powerful navy in the world.
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III. The importance of the mercantilism for the
development of the economic thought.
Mercantilism qualities Mercantilism deficiencies
1) Mercantilists were the first studying the
economy as such, liberating the economic
thought from the moral, religious dogmas and
transforming it into an independent science. The
mercantilism is the first mainstream of the
modern economic thought.
1) The Mercantilism is the last mainstream of
the pre-scientific economic thought, since it was
centered too much on the state economic policy
and was using especially the descriptive
method.
2) It played an important role for the
consolidation of the nation-states, for the
development of the national markets. It was
concerned with the advantages of the foreign
trade and protectionist policies.
2) Mercantilism deepening of social
differentiation. Exports stimulation was
increasing domestic prices and was
concentrating the profits in the hands of a
reduced number of merchants. At the
international level: the exploitation of some
countries and nations by the other ones.
3) It analyzed such important items as:
principles of money and commodities
circulation; the quantitative theory of money;
the structure and the role of the trade balance.
3) The mercantilists overestimated the role of
the circulation sphere, almost neglecting the
production one. They had also confined the
capital only to money and precious metals.
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Theme 3. The Classical Liberalism doctrine.
I. Economic Liberalism: stages and characteristics.
II. Physiocratic theory & policy. The assessment of the
Physiocracy.
III. Adam Smith: system builder. The Wealth of Nations:
methodological approaches, microeconomic and
macroeconomic foundations.
IV. Thomas Malthus: the principle of population.
V. David Ricardo and his analytical System.
VI. The ideas of the Liberal-optimists. Say's Law and his
theory of production factors.
VII. J. S. Mill: the multiple syntheses.
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I. Economic Liberalism: stages and
characteristics.
The Liberalism - the main megatendency of the modern and
contemporary economic thought.
Still it was constantly submitted to many metamorphosis imposed
by:
Challenges from its theoretical opponents ?
Challenges from the real development of the market
economy ?
The economic Liberalism had passed through the stages:
I. Classicism from the second half of the XVIII century till the
first two thirds of the XIX century. It comprised ?
II. Neoclassicism or marginalism from the end of the XIX
century till the beginning of the XX century. It included ?
III. Neoliberalism the second half of the XX century,
comprising ?
17
The main ideas maintained by the
classical liberalism:
The existence of "homo oeconomicus" individualism &
hedonism;
The private property;
Free competition of the economic agents;
Market self equilibration;
The natural order existing in the economy;
Least possible state implication in the economy "laissez
faire";
The theory of labor-value;
The universality of the economic ideas.
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II.1 Physiocratic theory.
Historical conjuncture.
France in the XVIII century long secular economic decline due
to:
The costly wars and extravagancies of its kings;
The French mercantilist policies
Capital accumulation in the production sphere was impossible ?
clergy and nobility ?? common farmers
Populations incomes & domestic markets were restricted by the
mercantilist policy of lowering wages and other production
costs in order to encourage exports.
The intellectual leader of the Physiocrats was Franois Quesnay
(court physician to Madame de Pompadour and Louis XV) +
Marquis de Mirabeau, Mercier de la Rivire, Dupont de
Nemours, Le Trosne, Nicolas Baudeau. The French minister
Turgot was sympathetic to Physiocratic doctrine.
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Physiocratic theory.
The term "Physiocracy" - "rule of nature" physiocrats believed in natural
order & primacy of agriculture.
The Physiocrats - system builders (?)
The Physiocracy underlying philosophy the natural law + the individual
rights and the private property.
The Physiocrats paradoxically exalted the absolute authority (?)
The Physiocrats the best way to trace out the effects of the oppressive
royal policies in France to show the interdependencies in the frame of
a circular flow of income and expenditure: any policy that had the effect of
enlarging it was beneficial, whereas any that restricted it, was harmful.
Franois Quesnay. The Tableau Economique (1758) three classes:
A productive class agriculturalists (fishermen, miners);
A sterile class merchants + manufacturers + domestic servants +
businessmen;
A proprietary class landlords + aristocracy.
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Francois Quesnay.The circular flow of
economic activity.
Farmers Artisans Proprietors



Note: Each line represents expenditures of one billion francs.
Commentary: Initial wealth - 5 billion francs 2 billion francs (the upkeep of the
productive class and its livestock during the year) + 1 billion francs (manufactured
goods and services) + 2 billion francs (rents and taxes to the proprietors), which
represents the net product, being produced entirely by the first class.
The circuit is completed when the proprietors spend their income (1 billion for
food and 1 billion for manufactures). The sterile class spend theirs (1 billion for
food and 1 billion for raw materials). The 3 billion francs originally spent by the
agriculturalists returns to them.
The biggest fallacy: the exclusive productivity of the agriculture.
Physiocrats (Quesnay) manufacturing and services are sterile
they contribute nothing to the net product.
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II.2 Physiocratic policy.
The physiocrats policies to encourage the accumulation of
capital:
tax reform to apply the capital to agriculture in order to
obtain a taxable net product + to eliminate the unreasonable
means of fiscal base assessment.
The solution to both problems to tax the landlord ?
(short run ?? long run)
land rent.
Mercantilist restrictions on free trade in the agricultural
products: farm prices & land rents.
Physiocrats: free trade & a general "laissez faire" capital
accumulation enable the size of the circular flow to grow
over time.
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II.3 The assessment of the Physiocracy.
Physiocracy qualities Physiocracy deficiencies
1) Physiocrats founded the first
economic school & the first scientific
doctrine. They changed the focus from
circulation sphere to the production one;
1) Their assertion concerning
the universality of the
economic laws proved to be
wrong;
2) They had been the first who analyzed
the circular flow of economic activity;
2) They wrongly considered
the industry and the trade as
sterile activities;
3) They introduced the term, the theory
and the policy of laissez faire.
+
3) They underestimated the
role of the external trade & of
the active trade balance.
+