David Colander: Polite transgressor

The author of this article considers the contribution to the economics discipline, and specific implications for economics teaching, of three pieces by David Colander, all of which attempted to reset economists’ thinking about how economics is done, is perceived, and is discussed. All three pieces have been highly influential in economics, particularly in shaping understanding of the term “mainstream economics” and how that relates to two other commonly used categories: “neoclassical economics” and “heterodox economics.” The author argues that Colander’s contributions contain important messages for economics teachers about their treatment of history in economics, the importance of classification, and understanding the role and construction of categories in economics. Overall, Colander’s work is evaluated as being transgressive, albeit polite.