On Professor Samuelson's Canonical Classical Model Of Political Economy

It is probable that Professor Samuelson's statement of the ‘canonical classical model of political economy’ will become the locus classicus for the next generation of textbook writers; teachers of the history of thought would be advised to familiarize themselves with the ingenious diagrams in particular. But the author, who himself warns of the dangers of myth-making in undertaking such reconstructions (1978, 1415), particularly (I would add) such Gestalt reconstructions - has provided no means whatsoever whereby the reader is enabled to evaluate the historical accuracy of the formulation.¹It is to repair this deficiency, in part at least, that I devote the present note, attending largely to Adam Smith and David Ricardo.