It is the aim of this essay to show the difficulties in Barry Smith&rsquos understanding ofCarl Menger&rsquos concept of essence and to clarify what essence means in Menger&rsquoseconomics. In section 1, I delineate Smith&rsquos understanding of Menger&rsquos concept ofessence. In sections 2&ndash3, I show that Smith misunderstands Menger&rsquos concept ofessence and explain what Menger&rsquos concept of essence means. In section 4, I showbriefly that Menger&rsquos economics discussed in &ldquoUntersuchungen uber die Methode derSozialwissenschaften und der politischen Oekonomie insbesondere&rdquo should not beconsidered to be a regional or categorical ontology of the economic reality. In section5, I comment on the future study of these issues |