Marshall and complexity: a necessary balance between process and order

caldari, katia;

According to Alfred Marshall, economics is a complex science, which deals with
a very compound matter. The concept of equilibrium is very widely referred to in
his writings, not only as a tool to be used in the analytical apparatus, as is usually
stressed, but also and more important as an element that characterises the evolutionary
framework of his analysis. In the Marshallian investigation of economic and
social matters, the term �equilibrium� indicates an indispensable degree of order,
whereas �evolution� denotes a vital continuous process that characterises every economic
and social body. The particular relation between equilibrium and evolution
which characterises Marshall�s approach allows us to better understand the balanced
interplay between order and process, two categories that, in Marshall, pervade
every aspect of society considered as a highly complex body