From Political Economy to Pseudo-Science:Mathematization, the Neutralization of Conflict, and the Crisis of Democracy

Abstract of my Contribution to the conference ‘The Contemporary Relevance of Paolo Sylos Labini’s Thought’, Fondazione Di Vittorio, Rome, 23 January 2026.”

Over recent decades, economics has undergone a radical transformation that has distanced it from its origins as an ethical–political discipline, oriented toward the historical and social understanding of economic phenomena. The growing mathematization of economic knowledge, rather than strengthening its scientific rigor, has expunged its historical, legal, and social elements, fostering a technocratic and depoliticized vision. Mainstream economics presents itself as neutral and objective, but in reality it masks ideological choices behind a formalism devoid of genuine falsifiability and scientific rigor. This drift has legitimized policies of austerity, deregulation, and privatization, undermining democratic sovereignty, especially in the European context. This process has produced a growing fracture between technocratic governance and citizenship, fueling distrust and political disillusionment. The erosion of conflict as a driver of deliberative democracy is the most serious outcome of this drift. To reverse this tendency it is necessary to restore to economics its historical and political dimension, following the teaching of the classical economists and of Paolo Sylos Labini. Only in this way can economics contribute to the construction of a substantive and inclusive democracy