The memoir surveys Ranchetti’s contribution to the history of economics and the history of ideas. His research in the history of economics, based on a solid knowledge of economic theory proper, is marked by the combination of philosophy and economics, and the many subjects in the humanities whose scholarly knowledge he cultivated. He looked at the broader cultural picture, going beyond the mere bones of theoretical propositions, underlying the connection of economic theories with ethics. In his view the economic discourse is linked to moral philosophy, and he explored how the questions about justice and human aims inspired the economists whose theories he studied. In his terse style of arguing Ranchetti explored the philosophical background, and the explicit philosophical principles, within which the theories of many great economists had taken shape. His broader aim was to translate economic theory into a learned cultural discourse to be shared by wide cultural audiences.
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