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Abstract
Ever since its weaning from classical political economy, neoclassical economists have sought to establish economics as a positive empirical science. The result of this historical evolution has been that contemporary neoclassical economists, despite occasional criticisms, view themselves officially as consisting of two epistemologically distinct parties. On the one hand there is positive economics, which is purportedly concerned with the scientific side of economics, and on the other hand welfare economics, which deals with the prescriptive aspects of economic theorizing. The normative-positive divide in economic theory conforms well with the theoretical fact-value distinction in traditional epistemology. There are grounds, however, for the opposing claim that the structures of positive neoclassical economics and welfare economics are epistemologically cognate, thereby making the qualitative distinction between the two areas spurious. Thus, some theorists, swayed by the prestige ascribed to positive neoclassical economics theory, have sought to establish a neoclassical welfare economics on positivist grounds.