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Economic theory is no longer prized by economists in academia and elsewhere. There are multiple reasons for the damage to its reputation, but they mostly involve the contraction of the field in question, which is a result of a growing demand for consistency and a desire for the empirical testing of fundamental hypotheses that is blurring the traditional boundary between disciplines. The development of quantitative techniques in data processing and the type of questions on the agenda mean that many empirical studies are related to sociology as much as economics.The waning of economic theory mainly relates to the dominant paradigm that has simultaneously shown economists the type of problems to be solved (existence and optimality of equilibria) and given them the tools with which to work (mathematical models linking rational behavior and conditions of equilibrium). It has little to do with the dominant paradigm referred to as monetary analysis by Schumpeter, who contrasts this with real or value analysis. Outlined by Steuart in the eighteenth century and Keynes in the twentieth century, monetary analysis deals with different questions (viability rather than equilibrium) and different representations of economics (payment matrices rather than excess demands). JEL classification codes: A10, A11, A12, B10, B20.