What distinguished most of the Classical Economists from the scholastics was that they gave much greater value to observation and calculation. They were, after all, all about business and how it functioned. A major similarity was their use of axiomatic assumptions and over-reliance on deductions therefrom. I suppose that the occasional "not a true Scottsman" helped to lubricate the process.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."