ABSTRACT
Textbooks, treatises and manuals play an important role in the diffusion of a body of knowledge. Depending on the intended audience, they may provide detailed surveys of the state of the art, summarise the standard interpretations adopted in the discipline, make a case for alternative approaches, or simply repeat for the umpteenth time the received views. Examples of all of these can be found when looking at the production of economics textbooks in Belgium in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. For a variety of reasons Belgian economists and teachers of economics were eager to spread the knowledge of this new ‘science’ – although some doubted whether it really was a science – by means of textbooks targeting students, selected professional groups and the broader public. Many saw economic knowledge as an instrument to guide society on the road to (economic) prosperity. 1
