Abstract

This paper is the revised version of a lesson held at the Triennale di Milano in 2016. First of all, it briefly outlines the main meanings of “economics”, with a closer look to the still hegemonic one, proposed by the neoclassical school of economics. Such a meaning is consistent with the general approach of neoclassical theory. The main flaws of this approach can be seen in the insufficient awareness of: historical context of economic phenomena, complexity of interactions between individual and society, and role played by ideology in the making of economic theories. The author defines on this basis the meaning of “scientific” in economics. Then, as a case of the limits and consequences of the neoclassical approach, he exposes its inadequate narrative for the crisis erupted in 2007, which was first unforeseen and then falsely interpreted by mainstream economists. Finally, a concrete case of the fallacy of the presumed social benefit coming from of individual economic rationality closes the paper.