This volume contains a selection of twenty papers presented at the X conference of the Italian Association for the Study of Economic Thought held in Treviso on March 27-29, 2008. The theme of the conference was Humanism and Religion in the History of Economic Thought.
Humanism and religion have been two reference points for economists who expressed their perplexities on the conception of man and society adopted in mainstream economics. The term Humanism has been introduced into economics to reaffirm the centrality of humankind in the economic system, endorsing Protagoras' "man is the measure" (and not money). Religion, on the other hand, poses the problem of recognizing "what is good" in human interaction according to moral laws (often at odds with material efficiency).
The essays are grouped in three sections. The first deals with the theorization of the economic agent in economics. Authors propose both general critical overviews and studies on specific schools of thought. The second section is centered on the Catholic perspective in economics. The papers in the second section discuss the evolution and the relevance of Catholic social thought and economic personalism as well as some specific authors: Lampertico, Toniolo and Menegazzi. Finally, the third section contains essays on a number of authors or schools which can be included in the humanistic category: from Marxist humanism to ethical liberalism, from Spengler to Perroux.

Daniela Parisi is Full Professor of History of Economic Thought at the Faculty of Economics, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Milan). She is interested in the relationships between religion and economics in the history of economic thought and in the connections between Italian and Northamerican economists in the XIX and XX centuries.
Stefano Solari is Associate Professor of Political Economy at the Faculty of Law and Department of Economics, University of Padua. His interests include practical science in economics, the history and methodology of economic analysis, the study of state-economy relationships and applied regional economics.