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Title: The Worldly Philosophers : The Lives, Times And Ideas Of The Great Economic Thinkers by Robert L. Heilbroner ISBN: 0-684-86214-X Publisher: Touchstone Books Pub. Date: 10 August, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.93 (44 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A Great Intro to Economic Theory and History
Comment: In my 20th Century American Literature class we recently read Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath." In conjunction with the book we watched "Roger and Me," a film by Michael Moore. The film chronicles the social collapse of Flint, Michigan, after General Motors closed several factories there in the late 1980's during a time of record profits. How ironic, then, that I should find myself reading a history of economics during a three-hour layover in an airport in Detroit, the Motor City.
I picked up a copy of Robert L. Heilbroner's The Worldly Philosophers for next to nothing at the Salvation Army. The cover suggests a retail price of a mere $..., a more significant sum back in 1961 when the revised edition was published. Heilbroner's book, however, is not weakened at all by its age. He sets out not to explicate his contemporary economy, but rather to recount the history of political economy by examining its greatest thinkers, beginning with Adam Smith and ending with John Maynard Keynes.
Before any of the biographies, however, there is a wonderful section on the origins of the market system. Heilbroner explains that until the 18th century, capitalism and the market system did not exist as we know them today. The lack of national unity and universal weights, measures, and currency made trade cumbersome. In addition to these impediments, the idea of seeking personal profit was not socially or religiously condoned. (Heilbroner cites an amusing case before the Boston courts in 1644 where a man was charged with making a "sixpence profit on the shilling, an outrageous gain.") Moreover, the economic concepts of Land, Labor, and Capital did not exist. Things began to shift radically in the 18th century, however, spurred along by the Industrial Revolution. As the free market system began to emerge, so did political economists. They form a most interesting pantheon: some pragmatic, some pure geniuses, nearly all eccentric in some way. ("One of them-who was very rich-urged the abolition of riches; another-quite poor-disapproved of charity.") Heilbroner humanizes these philosophers and paints a vivid picture of the worlds in which they lived. By providing such insightful biographical information he gives greater meaning to the economic theories espoused by each. I highly recommend this book for anyone who has an intellectual curiosity about economics but is discouraged at the thought of aggregate supply curves or equations like Sa+M+T = Ig+X+G. Heilbroner is able to explain the theories of Marx, Malthus, Keynes, and the rest in a purely theoretical, yet non-mathematical, way. I do not mean to suggest, however, that the book is a simplistic read. It has a scholarly (but entertaining) style and I found it quite handy to have a dictionary nearby. (Heilbroner graduated summa cum laude from Harvard.)
This book contains the perfect blend of economic theory, history, and intriguing biography. Perhaps none of these men directly swayed the fates of nations, but their collective school of thought could hardly be more influential throughout history. In the words of Heilbroner: "A man who thinks economics is only a matter for professors forgets that this is the science that has sent men to the barricades. A man who has looked into an economics textbook and concluded that economics is boring is like a man who has read a primer on logistics and decided that the study of warfare must be dull."
Rating: 5
Summary: Economics - interesting? Whodathunkit....
Comment: I'll say it... I'm a politics major who hates math, but needs to know economics. This book won't get you out of Macro 101, but it provides a refreshing, intelligent, well-written synopsis of major economic thinkers from Adam Smith to Joseph Schumpeter. It is excellent at placing these theories in their historical context. Heilbroner acknowledges what a dry subject economics can be, and seeks to engage the reader by providing ample information about the economists' personal lives (very entertaining, all). This book should be passed out, along with a copy of the Constitution, to every American citizen when they turn 18. It is by no means a comprehensive volume, but it doesn't try to be, and it provides a laundry list for more extensive reading. It's best used as a base reference and a guide to which economic thinkers you should be familiar with.
Heilbroner manages to make economics seem impressive and important... no small feat. The initial chapter on the history of economics and the chapters on Marx and Veblen are the best.
Highly recommended... very informative and an enjoyable read!
Rating: 4
Summary: Good Introduction
Comment: This is the latest version by a historian of economics, Heilbroner. In this book, taking the paradigm of Polanyi, so many classical economists are introduced as gworldly philosophersh like Adam Smith, Malthus, Ricardo, Owen, San Simon, Fourier, Mill, Marx, Edgeworth, Frederic Bastiat, Henry George, Hobson, Marshall, Veblen, Keyens, and Schumpeter.
The author shows us the way how we can understand some difficulties of those philosophers, explaining their social background, habitus, characters, whole perspective which the author calls gvisionh, achievements and difficulties from current issue. And because they have affected each other as a matter of fact, some letters which were inserted in this book is effective to touch their personalities. This book can be read as a Euro-American history through those philosophers.
Although there are a few inadequate expressions on anthropological facts and might be philosophy, this book must be fantastic for inviting readers to economics. However, although anthropology or sociology has same challenge, what we want to know at the end must be economy itself rather than thoughts of worldly philosophers. Ifm just a bit afraid this book might produce gstudiers who want to become economistsh rather than h studiers who want to know economyh, unless readers take it into account.
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