Production of Commodities by Means of Commodities: Prelude to a Critique of Economic Theory
Piero Sraffa
This work seems very closely related to Leontief’s work on input-output tables, which won the latter economist the Nobel prize. Not sure how these economists were connected to one another, but I assume (perhaps dangerously) that since Leontief was awarded the Nobel, it was his work that was seminal. All in all, this is not a style of economics that I enjoy, because it seems only minimally motivated by notions of human welfare and maximally motivated by the excitement of possibly being able to describe the economy as a big machine. (Very Soviet.)
By the way, if you are wondering why I ever chose to read this, it’s because my dad asked me to. Sraffa has a connection to Wittgenstein.