Description
Book SynopsisThis book provides an overview or an introduction to the development of economic thought from the time of the early Greek and Roman writers to the mid-20th century. It provides a basic, no frills account of how economic ideas which were first cited by the early philosophers were later refined by the writings of the medieval schoolmen and still later by the contributions of the mercantilists and physiocrats. All these ideas were collected and synthesized by Adam Smith in his Wealth of Nations which provided the basis for economics as a formal subject of inquiry. From Smith's magnum opus emerged the works of the classical economists, most notably, David Ricardo, Thomas Malthus, and John Stuart Mill. Their work was not left unchallenged by the Utopian Socialists, the Associationists, and other social reformers and most importantly by Karl Marx. Nevertheless, classical economics was not to be denied thanks to Alfred Marshall who succeeded in fusing the Austrians' concept of utility on the
Trade ReviewThis book presents a clear and lucid tryptic through a significant part of the history of economic thought and analysis from Aristotle to John Maynard Keynes. It is a book that all economists should read, especially those who are not historians of the discipline, so that they have some understanding that the analytical framework they employ has historical roots. -- Roy Rotheim, Skidmore College
Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1: The Early Contributors to the Development of Economic Thought Chapter 2: The Mercantilists and the Physiocrats Chapter 3: Adam Smith and the Wealth of Nations Chapter 4: The Classicists Chapter 5: The Early Critics of Classical Economics Chapter 6: The Later Classicists Chapter 7: The Socialists and Karl Marx Chapter 8: The Marginalist School Chapter 9: The Outliers Chapter 10: The American Economists Chapter 11: Marshall and Keynes Conclusion Bibliography About the Author
