Hermeneutical Political Economy. An Introductory Textbook by Carmelo Ferlito

(Angelo Paratico) Carmelo Ferlito, a native of Verona, is an economist and intellectual whose work bridges economic theory, public policy, and institutional analysis. Rooted in the Austrian and Schumpeterian traditions, his research has  focused on entrepreneurship, capital, monetary dynamics, and the institutional foundations of human flourishing. He is Chief Executive Officer of the Center for Market Education and a faculty member at Universitas Prasetiya Mulya, where he combines rigorous scholarship with extensive experience in policy advisory and business practice. He is frequently consulted by the Malay media about political and economic developments.


Hermeneutical Political Economy offers a profound rethinking of economics and public policy in an age dominated by technocracy, metrics, and the illusion of control. Moving beyond conventional models that treat the economy as a machine to be optimized, this book argues that economic life is, above all, a realm of meaning, interpretation, and human creativity unfolding under conditions of irreducible uncertainty. Drawing on hermeneutical philosophy, classical political economy, and a critical engagement with modern macroeconomics, Carmelo Ferlito restores the crucial distinction between economics as a science of understanding and policy as an art of prudential judgment. Against the illusion of knowledge hidden in targets, indicators, and algorithmic governance, the book advances a vision grounded in humility, institutional memory, and respect for complexity and emergence.
Written for students, scholars, and practitioners alike, this introductory textbook does not promise technocratic solutions. Instead, it offers clarity without illusion, recovering economics as an interpretive discipline and public policy as a responsible engagement with a world that cannot be engineered, only understood and wisely navigated.