Menger and the continental epistemology of uncertainty

Abstract

The methodology of Carl Menger is often presented as contributing to the birth of neo-classical economics and following British classical liberalism, misrepresenting his original approach. On the contrary, Menger pretended empiricism. His application of subjective evaluation and his theoretical explanation of organic institutions are here seen as embedded in the Continental stream of enlightened liberalism inspired by the Lockean theory of knowledge. This methodological stream that deals with decision-making under uncertainty includes Galiani, Condillac, and Turgot, possibly preceded by Vico.