Léon Walras : what "cutes" know and what they should know

"The general idea among contemporary university-trained economists ("cutes") of what Léon Walras (1834-1910) has contributed to analytical economics may be summarised in modern notation as follows: Let a system of equations be given: e(p) = 0, where the symbol p denotes an n-dimensional vector of prices of goods brought to the market and e is a vector-valued function of the prices representing the n excess demands in the market for the goods. The equation expresses market equilibrium and the generally accepted view seems to be that there is a so-called auctioneer who takes care that such an equilibrium will occur. To that end, he, the auctioneer, announces an initial vector p′ of prices. The people who bring the goods to the market in order to exchange (part of) them for other goods react on these initial prices by establishing certain quantities of goods demanded or supplied.