Short description
The author surveys the key figures and ideas in economic history. Beginning with the evolution of a market system he analyses the leading economic thinkers from Adam Smith to Malthus, from Marx to Veblen, from Keynes to our present day economists and shows how their ideas have shaped the world.
Long description
With over two million copies sold worldwide, The Worldly Philosophers is one of the most widely read texts on the history of economics ever written. It defines the common thread linking the world's greatest economic thinkers from Adam Smith to Malthus, from Marx to John Maynard Keynes, and explores the philosophies that motivated them. This not only enables us to see more deeply into our history, but, through undertsanding how a capitalist society works, also helps us to better understand our own times. In a bold new last chapter entitled The End of the Worldly Philosophers , Heilbroner reminds us that the word end refers both to the purpose and the limits of economics. He argues that today's increasingly scientific economics may overlook fundamental social and political issues that are central to economics. Thus, unlike its predecessors, this new edition provides not just an indispensable illumination of our past, but also a call to action for our future.