ABSTRACT
For more than half a century, there has been a new trend in political economy, which is associated with the application of mathematical method to the analysis of economic issues. The founder of this trend is the famous mathematician Auguste Cournot, who published in 1838 a book in which he applies higher mathematical theorems for the first time to the study of several economic issues. Despite its novelty and originality, this book went unnoticed, and its author fell into oblivion. However, the idea of the possibility and fruitfulness of applying the mathematical method to political economy had not been abandoned. A number of scholars appeared, more or less successfully pursuing this goal: Gossen, Thünen, Walras and others. The number of supporters of the mathematical method has grown each year, especially from the 1870s and 1880s, even creating a whole school of mathematical-economists. This trend did not remain unknown to Russian scientists. Recently, a book appeared in our country, whose author, V. K. Dmitriev, is a strong and ardent supporter of the mathematical method.
