This chapter argues that, in the history of economic thought, relativists and absolutists claim that economic ideas progress in different ways. Contrast the position of the relativists and the absolutists. In what circumstances, if any, is each position correct?

Question

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The Answer is Two schools of interpretation, relativism and absolutism, highlight important distinctions for the progression of ideas.
Relativism is the current economic environment shapes the questions and theories of researchers. Procedures of justification and standards of reasoning stem from assessments of the context calling attention to them. The progression of ideas has properties relative to a given framework of analysis. Once the framework of analysis is identified, the outcomes of the research process are specified.
Absolutism is the internal factors of the discipline, such as ongoing and unresolved questions and the discovery of new solutions, shape the progression of ideas. Absolute standards guide the judgment of theories. Analytical contributions are not traced to influences from the socio-economic environment. A set of internal pressures and values influences researchers. Scientific advance remains on the intellectual plane of being, the level of ideas.
Synthesis of relativism and absolutism:
Which of the two schools of thought is correct, relativism or absolutism? To contextualize research on the economics of optimal disease control, both perspectives offer contributions. But a synthesis of the two views provides a method to evaluate contemporary economic research. Joseph Schumpeter (1961), the influential Austrian political economist, argues that, with respect to the progression of ideas, two groups exist: innovators and articulators. Innovators craft novel ideas that lead to revolutions in a discipline (e.g., John Maynard Keynes). Articulators adopt the methods of innovators and expand the ideas, thus developing the discipline.

This Chapter Argues That, in the History of Economic Thought