Description
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewRediscovering Political Economy provides a useful bridge for 21th Century trained neoclassical economists and their students to the philosophical, religious, and political underpinnings of economic men-men who are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights among which are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. -- Richard V. Burkhauser, Sarah Gibson Blanding Professor of Policy Analysis and Management, Cornell University
Rediscovering Political Economy is an excellent and diverse collection of ten essays on political economy. Tom West's essay on the economic thought of the Founders and Larry Schweikart's history of banking have particular insight into the interplay between liberty and politics. I recommend this book. -- Burt Folsom, Hillsdale College, and author of
FDR Goes to War
Rediscovering Political Economy collects papers that not only address the moral/ethical foundations of economic society, but a rethinking of the enterprise of economics and political economy. Economics for most of the 20th century was practiced as a purely technical science that ignored not only its philosophical roots but also the historical details associated with the political, legal, and social institutions within which economic activity takes place. The papers, and the references they provide, reflect the efforts of many scholars to reconnect economics and political economy to the "worldly philosophy" and the historical reality of economic and political life. Rediscovering Political Economy is a welcomed addition to the literature in philosophy, politics, and economics. -- Peter Boettke, George Mason University
The collection of essays is best viewed as a road toward the rediscovery of political economy. One travels the road and gains some understanding of the ideas that will belly up to the negotiating table when it comes time to put the national Humpty-Dumpty back together again....Rediscovering Political Economy is a useful book for understanding the polity’s ongoing demise as well as its prospects for eventual rebirth. * Acton Institute PowerBlog *
The collection of essays is best viewed as a road toward the rediscovery of political economy... Rediscovering Political Economy is a useful book for understanding the polity’s ongoing demise as well as its prospects for eventual rebirth. * Journal of Markets & Morality *
Table of Contents
1 Introduction Part 2 Part I: Theoretical Foundations of Political Economy Chapter 3 Chapter 1: The Moral Basis for Economic Liberty 4 Chapter 2: Restoring Sound Economic Thinking: What Natural Law Taught Us 5 Chapter 3: The Idea of Commerce in Enlightenment Political Thought 6 Chapter 4: Understanding Friedrich Engels (and Marx) and Adam Smith on Economic Organization and the Price Mechanism 7 Chapter 5: Ten (Mostly) Austrian Insights for These Trying Times 8 Part II: Political Economy and American Economic Experience 9 Chapter 6: Promoting the General Welfare: Political Economy for a Free Republic 10 Chapter 7: The Economic Theory of the American Founding 11 Chapter 8: Hamilton and Jefferson: Two Visions of Democratic Capitalism 12 Chapter 9: The Right Kind of Regulation: How the Founders Thought about Regulation 13 Chapter 10: American Banking from Birth to Bust, and All Points in Between
