ABSTRACT
Certain critics of “conventional” economic theory from time to time voice surprise at the general acceptance of marginalism and at “the confidence of the textbook writers in the validity of the marginal analysis.” These critics would probably revolt against all those definitions of economics which contain marginalism as an implicit criterion. Marginalism, as the logical process of “finding maximum,” is clearly implied in so-called economic principle—striving to achieve with given means a maximum of ends. This is not to deny that a goodly portion of all business behavior may be non-rational, thoughtless, blindly repetitive, deliberately traditional, or motivated by extra-economic objectives. But the material thus far presented as the result of empirical research has not proved what the analysts intended to prove. Any attempt to “test” marginalist theory through empirical research presupposes full understanding of the theory. Empirical research designed to verify or disprove marginal productivity theory in the analysis of input of the individual firm is beset with difficulties.
