ABSTRACT
Every science is based squarely on induction—on observation of empirical facts. This is true even on the very imperfect sciences, which have none of the good luck of astronomy and classical physics. This is true of meteorology, of medicine, of economics, of biology, and of a number of other fields that have achieved only modest success in their study of reality. The cornerstone of the simplest and most fundamental theory of production and distribution—that of Walras and J. B. Clark—is Euler’s theorem on homogeneous functions. It is doubtful that Clark—who rather boasted of his mathematical innocence—had ever heard of Euler. When an economic theorist deplores the use of mathematics, he usually speaks up for the virtues of geometrical diagrams as the alternatives.
