This book introduces thirteen scholars who have an important position in the history of economic thought, so that readers can use this book to understand the key figures and main sources of thought in the history of economic thought.
This book introduces readers to the lives and works of the most influential economists in modern times. There is no tedious economic terminology and linear equations that make people feel clouded. It provides an overview of economics, from labor The division of labor to cognitive biases, savings, entrepreneurship, game theory, liberalism, and welfare economics shows how these theories have shaped our society and our own way of life today.
Keynes wrote a very controversial sentence in his masterpiece “The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money”: “The ideas of economists and political philosophers, whether correct or not, are better than commonly understood More weight. In fact, those who dominate the world are just these ideas. Doers think that they are not affected by any academic theory, but they often become slaves of a late economist. “This remark is shocking and highlights. Economists and politicians have an important influence on the process of historical development.
This passage of Keynes also appropriately and clearly connected the themes of the book “The Great Economic Thinker.” The book “The Great Economic Thinker” consists of 13 articles written by scholars from the world’s top academic institutions, introducing the lives and achievements of 13 important economic thinkers. It can be called “When the Stars Are Shining” in the history of economic thought. , Is a “Western Economics” in the form of a biography.
These thirteen economists are all famous, starting with Adam Smith, then Ricardo, Muller, Marx, Alfred Marshall, Schumpeter, Keynes, Hayek, Freeh Deman, Nash, Daniel Kahneman, Amartya Sen, Stiglitz. From the time of Smith to the era of Stiglitz, the time span spanned two hundred years, and it was not easy to select only 13 economists.
Demaris Coffman, professor of economics and finance at University College London, stated in the introduction that the reason why these 13 economists are called “great economic thinkers” is because they are The knowledge system of thinking has made a certain degree of contribution. Their thoughts and works have had a significant impact on the economic decision-making of countries around the world, and are expected to represent great economic thoughts.
For many readers, the first few have heard of it, and maybe they know their economic propositions briefly. They can say a few words about the “invisible hand” and the theory of comparative advantage. It’s a bit strange. In fact, the last six are all Nobel Prize winners in economics, selected from nearly fifty winners of this prize, and they are all recognized masters in the academic field.
All rivers have a source. No theory is born out of thin air. New economic thoughts must be based on a full understanding of historical facts. The knowledge map drawn in the book “The Great Economic Thinker” can be said to outlineThe development context of economic thought and theory over the past two hundred years.
To a certain extent, these thinkers have provided us with original insights on specific issues that are unique to their era, reflecting people’s different opinions on the proper face and development trend of human social life. These opinions have had a profound impact on the formulation of economic decisions, and ultimately constituted a new pattern of modern commercial civilization.
Different ideologies, political positions, and historical backgrounds have shaped economists with vastly different and even very different economic viewpoints. When reading this book, there seems to be an arena in front of the author. The greatest economic thinkers are inspired by debates, find answers in collisions, and fight and compete to win the debate. The passion that ignited during the competition prompted them to go further on the road of analysis and thinking.
Is economics a science? Most economists will give a positive answer. But the research object of economics is not an object, but the most subjective subject. It lacks the norms like physics and chemistry, and is often regarded as a semi-scientific, semi-ideological theory. “On the one hand, it is the study of wealth, on the other hand, it is also a more important aspect. It is part of human research.” “It deals with the ever-changing human nature and the subtle forces in this human nature.”
According to the British philosopher Russell’s understanding in The History of Western Philosophy: “All exact knowledge (this is what I claim-Russell’s Note) belongs to science; all dogmas that involve more than exact knowledge belong to theology But between theology and science, there is an unmanned land that is attacked by both sides. This uninhabited land is philosophy.” In this sense, economics is also more in an unmanned area under two-way attacks. Domain.
Economics is both a worldview and a methodology, which profoundly affects our thinking and the world in which we live. Traveling in the development process of economic thought and theory, fully understanding these thoughts and theories that have an important influence on the historical development process will help us to improve our ability to see the essence through complex appearances and help us make more correct choices in life .
In fact, it is not difficult to find that many of today’s views and opinions are actually derived from the theoretical views of the past. After having a certain degree of understanding of the ideological basis of these important economic schools, they then encounter disputes about the government’s fiscal policy, international trade and other issues, or hear some economists or politicians use good-sounding and profound terms to state their opinions. Viewpoints can also penetrate the confusing nature of language, identify the essence and source of it at a glance, and even identify the motivation behind it.
Perhaps as Joan Robinson said in the Basel Lecture in 1969: The purpose of studying economics is to learn how to not be fooled by economists.
Because it is written by a connoisseur, the content of “The Great Economic Thinker” is very professional. It looks a bit difficult and has a certain threshold for reading. However, for those who do not have a foundation in economicsFor readers, by flipping through a book of more than 300 pages, they can get a general understanding of the history of economic thought in the West for more than 200 years from first-class scholars, and it can be regarded as a fairly good deal.
For readers with economics knowledge, this will also be a fairly professional casual reading. In any case, reading such a treatise will not go home empty-handed; if you are psychologically prepared a little and supplement the relevant knowledge a little, you will surely gain even greater gains.
“The Great Economic Thinker”
[English] Edited by Jonathan Conlin
About the author:
The book is edited by Jonathan Conlin, who is a senior lecturer in modern history at the University of Southampton. He published Carlos
Biography of Calouste Gulbenkian and Adam Smith. Other books include Evolution and the Victorians (2014) and Tales of Two Cities (2013), which compares the history of Paris and London.
The authors are all experts and scholars from the world’s top academic institutions: Michelle Badley, Academic Director and Research Professor of the Choice Institute, University of South Australia, Sydney, Honorary Professor of the Institute of Global Prosperity, University College London; Victoria Bate Mann, researcher of economics at Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge; Emmanuel Benicourt, Picardie Jules-Verne University (University of Amiens) Economics
Senior lecturer in economics; Helen Paul, economic historian, Department of Economics, University of Southampton; etc.