Maffeo Pantaleoni's comprehensive economic science.

Maffeo Pantaleoni (1857–1924), son of Diomede, a prominent figure in the Italian Risorgimento, and Isabella Massy Dawson, an Irish noblewoman, studied in France and Germany and graduated from the University of Rome. He began his academic career at the Universities of Camerino and Macerata, before succeeding Angelo Messedaglia in the Roman chair in 1901. From 1900, he served as a deputy in the 21st Italian Legislature for a few years. In 1920, he became Minister of Finance in Fiume and supported the Fascist movement. In 1923, he was appointed Senator of the Kingdom. Over one hundred years have passed since Maffeo Pantaleoni died in Milan on 29 October 1924.1 Struggles, including fierce controversies, marked Pantaleoni’s multifaceted and restless life, but his passion for economic research always drove him. He did not hesitate to criticise government policies and denounce episodes of political corruption, such as the Banca Romana scandal (1893). As a sharp and polemical publicist in favour of liberalism, his criticisms were directed primarily against the development of socialism and parliamentarism. According to the title of his 1889 manual, Principii di economia pura (Engl. tr. Pure Economics; Pantaleoni, 1898a), a unified yet comprehensive understanding of Pantaleoni’s thought emerges from the interplay between purist and non-purist components in his economic theory. Pure economics is distinguished by its axiomatic- deductive approach, which yields general and formally structured economic implications. In contrast, impure analysis incorporates hypotheses reflecting social systems’ intricate nature, offering a different perspective. More profound interpretations of his work remain fragmented despite the availability of at least some specialised works that are instrumental in reconstructing, quite organically, the economic thought of the Macerata scholar (Baldassarri, 1997; Bellanca and Giocoli, 1998; Bianco, 2014; Bini, 2008, 2012; Michelini, 1998; Mosca, 2015).2 Except for another work highlighting the global approach to economics (Campagna, 1949), Pantaleoni’s thought has not been analysed as a whole. It has experienced a first significant moment of study thanks to the contributions of the leading economists contemporary with him – some of whom regarded him as a master. This includes numerous articles published in the Giornale degli economisti in March and April 1925 following his death.3 Towards the end of the 1980s, the professionalisation of the history of economic thought in Italy and the subsequent emergence of some academic journals – one specifically dedicated to the history of Italian economic thought – undoubtedly facilitated the appearance of significant studies concerning this economist. These studies constitute a robust historiography that is highly valuable in guiding the reader towards an engagement with primary sources.4 Finally, the bibliographical research by Augello and Michelini (1997) brings together some 75 years of studies on Pantaleoni after the economist’s death (1924–1998), and Spalletti (2025) provides an update of the bibliographical research (1999–2024).5 Unlike the authors mentioned in this section, the following does not aim to offer an original interpretation of Pantaleoni’s thought. Instead, it serves as an introduction to his principal scholarly contributions for those unfamiliar with his work. Given the audience of readers, our goal is to present a systematized overview of his key topics. The final section explores the international impact of Pantaleoni’s thought, taking into account how his work has been received and the recent secondary literature addressing the contributions discussed.