ABSTRACT
The aim of this paper is to investigate possible inconsistencies between J. S. Mill’s methodological positions on the science of Political Economy and the historical view of man and society that he eventually embraced. The analysis of his main propositions on method reveals that Mill was inconsistent to hold - as he did - the universal validity of investigating this science by the deductive method. But two examples selected from his Principles show that, as a political economist, Mill used alternative methodological procedures when the occasion demanded, being more consistent as a scientist than as a philosopher of science.
KEYWORDS:
History of economic thought; economic methodology; Stuart Mill