ABSTRACT
Institutionalist thought must not be considered as monolithic. As Rutherford says, it is composed of two main research programs (Rutherford 1994:1-2). The first branch, whose founding father is Thorstein Veblen, puts a strong emphasis on the presumed dichotomy between business and industry. Its framework is cultural. The second, whose leader is John R.Commons, puts its emphasis on the legal aspects of the economic system. Their theoretical divergences have already been pointed out by Endres (1985:637-649), but in order to understand their difference concerning the place of man in the social process, theory is not enough. We have to refer to their methodological positions. Although the orthodox economists who usually see the individual only through his action on the market are an obvious target of attack for both Veblen and Commons, each takes a different path when presenting their own positions on the subject.
