ABSTRACT
The protagonists of classical and neo-classical Economics were still satisfied with what has aptly been called armchair-theorizing. They did not feel bound—nor did they have the appropriate research techniques—to submit either the hypotheses on which their theorems were based or these theorems themselves to empirical tests. Our first issue is the true relationship that exists between Economics and the exact sciences. In fact, a strong argument can be made in favor of a quite intimate relationship. It bases itself on the presence of a nucleus in all economic activities which relates Man to Matter rather than Man to Man. The micro-economic crux of social behavior patterns is the purposive factor—the underlying micro-goals and, in particular, the modal micro-goals or action directives. Only if these micro-goals are compatible with the prevailing macro-goals and optimization criteria is continuous aggregate provision assured.
