The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times and Ideas of the Great Economic Thinkers

Hailed by John Kenneth Galbraith almost a half century ago as a "brilliant achievement, The Worldly Philosophers with more than 2 million copies sold, not only enables us to see more deeply into our history, but helps us to better understand our own times. Heilbroner provides the new theme that connects thinkers as different as Adam Smith and Karl Marx: the desire to understand how a capitalist society works. It is a focus never more needed than in this age of confusing economic headlines.In a bold new last chapter titled "The End of the Worldly Philosophy?" Heilbroner reminds us that the word "end" refers both to the purpose and the limits of economics. This chapter conveys a concern 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 a call to action for our future.

CONTENTS
I Introduction
II The Economic Revolution
III The Wonderful World of Adam Smith
IV The Gloomy Presentiments of Parson Malthus and David Ricardo
V The Dreams of the Utopian Socialists
VI The Inexorable System of Karl Marx
VII The Victorian World and the Underworld of Economics
VIII The Savage Society of Thorstein Veblen
IX The Heresies of John Maynard Keynes
X The Contradictions of Joseph Schumpeter
XI The End of the Worldly Philosophy?