The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times And Ideas Of The Great Economic Thinkers

US: Touchstone, 1999. Paperback. Very Good. A copy that has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. The bestselling classic that examines the history of economic thought from Adam Smith to Karl Marx-"all the economic lore most general readers conceiv ably could want to know, served up with a flourish" (The New York Times). The Worldly Philosophers not only enables us to see more deeply into our hi story but helps us better understand our own times. In this seventh edition , Robert L. Heilbroner provides a new theme that connects thinkers as diver se as Adam Smith and Karl Marx. The theme is the common focus of their high ly varied ideas-namely, the search to understand how a capitalist society w orks. It is a focus never more needed than in this age of confusing economi c headlines. In a bold new concluding chapter entitled "The End of the Worldly Philosophy?" Heilbroner reminds us that the word "end" refers to both the purpose and 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.