Piet de Wolff (1911-2000) introduced the distinction ‘macro-economics’ and ‘micro-economics’, in his 1941 article on elasticities, in The Economic Journal. His distinction is plain technical, and his ‘macro-economics’ appears to be just another word for ‘aggregate’. I surmise that the economics profession quickly adopted the word ‘macro-economics’ since it sounds more professional and less political than ‘Political Economy’. It sounds as a distinction that can be made within economics, without having to visit the other sciences. The problem with equating macro-economics with Political Economy however is that Political Economy also is interested in distributional aspects - while macro-economics by definition looks at the aggregate only. A problem with publishing a book on micro-economics (and using that word as the title) is that good micro-economics of course also includes the macro-economic feedbacks and constraints. So my suggestion is to use the ‘macro’ and ‘micro’ words as technical terms only (better sounding than ‘aggregate’ and ‘disaggregate’), and not write books with those titles or create professorial chairs on those ‘subjects’.
Biographical note on Montesquieu
Quoting from http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/6681/montesqb.htm:
“Montesquieu, Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de la Brede et de (1689-1755), French writer and jurist, born in the Chteau of la Brède, and educated at the Oratorian school at Juilly and later at Bordeaux. He became counselor of the Bordeaux parliament in 1714 and was its president from 1716 to 1728. Montesquieu first became prominent as a writer with his Persian Letters (1721; trans. 1961); in this work, through the device of letters written to and by two aristocratic Persian travelers in Europe, Montesquieu satirized contemporary French politics, social conditions, ecclesiastical matters, and literature. the book won immediate and wide popularity; it was one of the earliest works of the movement known as the Enlightenment, which, by its criticism of French institutions under the Bourbon monarchy, helped bring about the French Revolution. The reputation acquired by Montesquieu through this work and several others of lesser importance led to his election to the French Academy in 1728. His second significant work was Considérations sur les causes de la grandeur et de la décadence des Romains (Thoughts on the Causes of the Greatness and the Downfall of the Romans, 1734), one of the first important works in the philosophy of history. His masterpiece was The Spirit of Laws (1748; trans. 1750), in which he examined the three main types of government (republic, monarchy, and despotism) and states that a relationship does exist between an area’s climate, geography, and general circumstances and the form of government that evolves. Montesquieu also held that governmental powers should be separated and balanced to guarantee individual rights and freedom.”
Note that his original name was Secondat, and that he inherited the title of Baron from his uncle in 1716. He also was elected to the Royal Society in 1730. See http://tqd.advanced.org/3376/Monty2.htm
Sir Isaiah Berlin: “Montesquieu advocated constitutionalism, the preservation of civil liberties, the abolition of slavery, gradualism, moderation, peace, internationalism, social and economic justice with due respect to national and local tradition. He believed in justice and the rule of law; detested all forms of extremism and fanaticism; put his faith in the balance of power and the division of authority as a weapon against despotic rule by individuals or groups or majorities; and approved of social equality, but not the point which it threatened individual liberty; and out of liberty, but not to the point where it threatened to disrupt orderly government.” (“Against the Current”) (Also taken from the internet.)
The Spirit of Laws can actually be read on the internet at http://www.constitution.org[/]
I’ve read the introductory parts, and find them still quite readable. One notes that Montesquieu refers to the ‘laws of the material world’, and one cannot but think that Newton (1642-1727) has some influence here.
It is interesting too what Montesquieu has to say on economics (Book XX.7):