ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses a short article which tells a good deal about Francois Perroux. It provides the breadth and depth of his scholarship; his knowledge of the literature from before Adam Smith to the latest issues of the leading journals; his willingness to transgress the borders of what is normally considered economics and invade other fields of knowledge. The chapter reveals his human compassion, his concern for mankind the world over, and his view of economics as an instrument for improving the level of human welfare. In order to situate Perroux's general theory more precisely within the spectrum of contemporary economic thought Perroux's general theory is compared to the theories of two other twentieth-century giants, Keynes and Schumpeter. Schumpeter's analytical framework is of an entirely different genre. It is much broader in scope than the Keynesian system, a theory of interlocking cycles and growth, incorporating social change, almost a theory of history.
