Three cases of the relation between economic science and social practice

In the paper the author analyzes relationships between economic laws and the way in which they 'reflect' themselves in economic theory, on the one hand and researches manner in which economic policy influences manifestation of economic laws, on the other hand. Three main forms of these relationships are presented. In the first case, politicians, social classes and economic scientists choose only those parts or elements in economic theories and social doctrines that correspond to their opinions or economic interests. In the same time, politicians, social classes and economists neglect or repudiate other parts or elements of the same social theory. This selective approach is illustrated with examples of Adam SmithAEs and MarxAEs economic and social theories. The second form concerns economic and social situations in which politicians, social classes and economists accepted some economic conceptions as socially useful in spite of the fact that they were not correct. As examples, SayAEs 'law of market' (automatic reaction between supply and demand) and MarxAEs explication of exploitation in capitalism are presented in the paper. The third form of interaction between economic theory, economic policy and economic practice is analyzed in the cases of economic crises, the biggest crisis in history of capitalism (1929-1932) and the second crisis that occurred during the 1970 years.