Three economists confronting the social question in the 19th century

During the 19(th) century, economists proposed various solutions to social preoccupations (the social question). Based on the existence of natural economic laws, Ricardo's analysis showed that poverty was an inflexible fatality. Marx didn't refute Ricardo's conclusions but argued that the laws of the capitalist system were historical and that only extinction of capitalism would abolish poverty. To propose a reformist way, Walras retained the idea of natural laws but also admitted existence of a sphere where society could act freely according to criteria of justice. these divergences between economists are linked with epistemological oppositions about the nature and content of political economy.