This aim of this article is to review the work done by historians of economic thought on the subject of economic equilibrium in and to make it readable by any person with no previous interest in the field. After looking at the current critiques that are bestowed upon the use of economic equilibrium in economic and political planning, this paper will try and come back to the source of the notion of equilibrium in economics in order to understand more deeply the criticisms. As a conclusion it will present current research alternatives that try to resolve such issues.