ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the conventional interpretation of the von Neumann model and confronts it with an alternative interpretation. The idea of writing this chapter was born while we were working on a book manuscript dedicated to the theory of production from a von NeumannSraffa point of view (see Kurz and Salvadori 1995). Since one concern of the book is with tracing the historical origins of the concepts used, we
studied the literature on the two proximate originators of the approach adopted by us, only to find out that their contributions are frequently regarded as belonging to vastly different or even diametrically opposed traditions in economic thought. Hence our view as to the compatibility of the two approaches was questioned.
