Throughout history, schools of economic thought have defined political economy—or economics—and its object of study in multiple ways. This paper reflects on the definitions of economics by schools of economic thought and also proposes the concepts of value and scarcity as key concepts to explain the differences between them. The most important findings of the paper are: (a) the ontological and epistemological characteristics of the concept of value and scarcity have shaped the definitions of economics; (b) the boundaries of the study object of economics have been expanded since today’s mainstream economics deals with multiple topics as diverse as crime, education, development, health, etc. However, the methodological tools used in mainstream economics have been narrowed since approaches such as the philosophical, ethical, historical, and institutional approaches have been left behind; (c) the part of reality that mainstream economics can grasp have left behind important issues of the contemporary world, such as gender, social, and environmental issues. A clear understanding of the scope and boundaries of economics could help to define more realistic research questions for economic science, and it would help to define new economic paradigms that address the contemporary issues.

中文翻译：

---

回顾经济学的定义：解释经济学研究对象变化的两种认识论张力

纵观历史，经济思想流派以多种方式定义了政治经济学（或经济学）及其研究对象。本文反思了经济思想流派对经济学的定义，并提出了价值和稀缺的概念作为解释它们之间差异的关键概念。本文最重要的发现是：（a）价值和稀缺概念的本体论和认识论特征塑造了经济学的定义； (b) 由于当今的主流经济学涉及犯罪、教育、发展、健康等多种主题，经济学研究对象的边界已经扩大。然而，主流经济学使用的方法论工具已经缩小，因为诸如由于哲学、伦理、历史和制度方法已被抛在后面； (c)主流经济学能够把握的部分现实已经留下了当代世界的重要问题，例如性别、社会和环境问题。对经济学的范围和边界的清晰理解有助于为经济科学定义更现实的研究问题，也有助于定义解决当代问题的新经济范式。