The Making of Modern Economics: The Lives and Ideas of the Great Thinkers

This author managed to write an interesting economics book. The book contains the history of economic thought, and details about the quirky lives of famous economists. The author believes in the "no wasted sentences" style of writing. He writes in a Will Durant type style where every page is a mixture of fact, opinions and wit. After every chapter, a reader can feel that He really learned something. Purists would say it is better to read the original text by the economist, Then use this book to find out what economist to pursue. I really enjoyed this book, that provides a lot of bang for the buck, Knowledge nuggets ripe for the picking.

I shopped very carefully to find a book which would help decode the economic names, ideas and systems which are so important today's world, yet so inaccessible to the non-economist. I was looking to find a book which would discuss the economists and their theories without a heavy liberal slant. This book scores on every possible point. It would make an excellent college textbook. It is well layed out with many insets, biographical sketches, etc. The text itself is engaging and sometimes humourous, and perhaps most uniquely, it tells a story. It tells the story of economics as a battle for freedom fought in lofty ideas by academics but with deep and real consequeces. I would absolutely recommend this book to any person looking for an intoduction into the story of economics. It will prove invaluable to your understanding of life.

There's a saying in the economics department of academia that the answers to the test are always the same, only the questions change. Mark Skousen does a masterful job in telling us why this is true.Skousen begins this marvelous book with a quote by J.M. Keynes. I'll paraphrase it as follows: "the ideas of economists and political philosophers are more powerful than commonly understood; indeed the world is ruled by little else". A quote on the same page by J.M. Ferguson avers, "Economics concerns itself with the greatest of all human dramas... the struggle of humanity to escape from want". These two quotes suggest that one: the "follow the money" theory of history has credence, particularly over the Hegalian master-slave theory, and its Marxist class oppression version. And, two: that the study of economics has essentially revolved around how to alleviate poverty, and to create a greater surplus for all people. Skousen begins this tome with a salute to Adam Smith whose "invisible hand" thesis explains the counter intuitive concept that "individual self interest attains for the greatest common good." This idea supports Tom Sowell's assertion that social policy should consist of ways to incentivize industrious, commercially competent, ambitious, self centered men; a push for the idea that greed is good. Skousen compares Smith's "Harmony of interest" model, which asserts that workers, landlords and capitalists work together to provide goods and services", with Ricardo's "Class conflict" model, one that suggests that the same parties compete with one another for a share of those goods and services." What's good about this book is that Skousen gives both sides an equal hearing, and he tells it as a storyteller might. He makes it readable and engaging. He wends his way thru the stories of French economists Alex de Tocqueville, Frederic Bastiat, and Jean Baptiste Say as they relate to the study of economics in the period following the printing of Adam Smith's opus, "the Wealth of Nations". This continuing study weaves forward thru Hegal's dialectic and its influence on Marx's "Communist Manifesto." We're then treated to Skousen's insights into the thinking of Thomas Carlyle, a critic of capitalism; John Stuart Mill; Jeremy Bentham; E.B-Bawerk who wrote a devastating critique of Marx's "labor theory of value", where a mud pie was said to be worth as much as an apple pie; W.S. Jevons who led the revolution in the concept of "marginal utility" along with Leon Walrus, also known for his use of mathematical equations and his work on economic equilibriums; and the brilliant Italian Vilfredo Pareto, the fellow who decided that all human behavior could be classified in 80-20 terms; Pareto's Law.As we mosey thru the rise of the Fabian Socialists in the 1870's, George Bernard Shaw et al, we're introduced to the greatest economist of the late 19th century; the neo-classicist in the Adam Smith tradition, Alfred Marshall. His chore was to rescue free-mar

I strongly second the prior five star comments. If you are taking an economics course this book will help you to understand the primary ideas in economics and help correct for the prevailing Keynesian bias.I have also read New Ideas from Dead Economists: An Introduction to Modern Economic Thought by Buchholz. Skousen while keeping his presentation interesting goes much deeper and broader into the historical development of economic ideas. Buchholz largely ignores the Austrian contributions. This oversight might be forgiven except that the Austrian model, given recent events, is looking better the more I read.

Economist Mark Skousen has written an exceptional history of economic theory. He traces the development of economic thought from Adam Smith to the present from a free market perspective. One of the features of his book I liked the most are the ample biographical anecdotes and pictures of economists. One gains a greater understanding of the economists and their thought through these pedagogical devices. There is much here of value to students at all levels of the history of economic thought. I thoroughly enjoyed The Making of Modern Economics and am confident this will be the response of other readers.