How should we decide whether a school of economic thought is heterodox or mainstream? The line is not always very clear. We can safely say that economics in the style of Paul Samuelson, the neoclassical synthesis, is mainstream, but that is an easy case.
One way to draw the line is to look at other areas of study that the school resembles. Does it resemble physics? Philosophy? Or perhaps sociology? I would suggest that any school which resembles physics or mathematics is mainstream. Even this is not always a good heuristic, since econophysics is not that mainstream.
Another method of categorizing is to look at who founded or popularized the school. If the founder was English, it is probably mainstream. There are a number of other interesting ways of categorizing schools, based on differing perspectives on capital, interest, and other concepts, as well.
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