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In Industry and Trade, 'A study of industrial technique and business organization; and of their influences on the conditions of various classes and nations' (1919), Alfred Marshall develops a detailed analysis of scientific management, emphasizing not only its unquestionable advantages but also its dangerous limits. Although in the literature Marshall's evaluation of scientific management has been considered rather positive, the author has found it sceptical and definitively critical in many passages of his book. This paper deals with Marshall's analysis in order to underline the reasons why he criticizes Taylor's system, which, at that time, sounded like the greatest expression of modernity.Scientific management, industrial organization, division of labour, progress,

The goal of bettering the quality of life (for the present and the future) is the inspiring principle of sustainable development, but even though this word is recent, it is not brand-new. Many of the conditions set for economic development to be ‘‘sustainable’’ were already recognized and stated by a few economists of the past. Among them Alfred Marshall deserves special mention. In this paper we shall attempt to strengthen this interpretation of Marshall’s contribution, in order to draw attention to interesting but less well-known aspects of his thought

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