As a backgrounder, classical or
neoclassical economist was the forerunner of Physiocrat who originated from the school of physiocracy founded by Francois Quesny, a Frenchman who lived in France between 1694 and the later part of the 17th century.
However, what the
neoclassical economist means by "growth in the steady state" is not exactly the same concept as "secular growth" in Garrison's framework.
Resonating with McCloskey, Derek Yonai's essay "The Rime of the
Neoclassical Economist" in Capitalism and Commerce offers a third reason an economist might want to pay attention to literature: she might pick up some tips on how to persuade the public of the wisdom of her economic insights.
In the interest of space, I will thus confine myself to an overview of the contents with a view to identifying some issues with which even a reformed
neoclassical economist might argue.
For the
neoclassical economist, decrease in the human fertility rate is not the only.
If you bought a Ginsu knife at 3:00 A.M., a
neoclassical economist will tell you that, at that time, you calculated that this purchase would optimize your resources.
According to Richard Jensen, a mainstream,
neoclassical economist who was appointed chair of the economics department two years ago, "The issue here was completely one of standards."
And, in one of the most brilliant and suggestive essays in the volume, Ronald Schleifer shows how the contrast between "marginal" and "total" utility advanced by the
neoclassical economist Alfred Marshall depends crucially on a configurational mode of understanding that Paul Ricoeur (following Louis Mink) associated with narrative--in contrast with the theoretical mode linked with mathematical formalisms and the categoreal mode underlying philosophical systems (157-73).
Robert Graniere, although a
neoclassical economist, at least mentioned natural gas limitations, but only in the context of price and transport.
A
neoclassical economist reading such an article could be forgiven for concluding that the author himself saw little to be gained in molding standard theory to fit labor-market facts.
...It is not true that I am a strict
neoclassical economist...
Besides recognizing uncertainties related to economic parameters, the
neoclassical economist's emphasis on efficiency as the justification for regulation must be tempered by other factors.