History of Economic Thought

by Robbins, Lionel; Medema, Steven G.; Samuels, Warren J.; Baumol, William J.

• ISBN13: 9780691070148
• ISBN10: 0691070148
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-10-16
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr

Summary

Lionel Robbins's now famous lectures on the history of economic thought comprise one of the greatest accounts since World War II of the evolution of economic ideas. This volume represents the first time those lectures have been published. Lord Robbins (1898-1984) was a remarkably accomplished thinker, writer, and public figure. He made important contributions to economic theory, methodology, and policy analysis, directed the economic section of Winston Churchill's War Cabinet, and served as chairman of theFinancial Times. As a historian of economic ideas, he ranks with Joseph Schumpeter and Jacob Viner as one of the foremost scholars of the century. These lectures, delivered at the London School of Economics between 1979 and 1981 and tape-recorded by Robbins's grandson, display his mastery of the intellectual history of economics, his infectious enthusiasm for the subject, and his eloquence and incisive wit. They cover a broad chronological range, beginning with Plato, Aristotle, and Aquinas, focusing extensively on Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus and the classicals, and finishing with a discussion of moderns and marginalists from Marx to Alfred Marshall. Robbins takes a varied and inclusive approach to intellectual history. As he says in his first lecture: "I shall go my own sweet way--sometimes talk about doctrine, sometimes talk about persons, sometimes talk about periods." The lectures are united by Robbins's conviction that it is impossible to understand adequately contemporary institutions and social sciences without understanding the ideas behind their development. Authoritative yet accessible, combining the immediacy of the spoken word with Robbins's exceptional talent for clear, well-organized exposition, this volume will be welcomed by anyone interested in the intellectual origins of the modern world.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	xi
Foreword	xiii
Introduction	xv
A. ANTICIPATIONS	3	(72)
Introduction--Plato	5	(11)
Plato and Aristotle	16	(10)
Aquinas and the Scholastics	26	(9)
Pamphleteers---Money (Oresme, Bodin, ``W.S.'')	35	(11)
Pamphleteers---Mercantilism (Malynes, Misselden, Mun)	46	(9)
Sir William Petty	55	(11)
Child and Locke (Interest)	66	(9)
B. EMERGENCE OF SYSTEMS	75	(90)
Cantillon	77	(9)
Cantillon (cont.)---Physiocracy	86	(9)
Physiocrats---Turgot	95	(9)
Locke and Hume on Property---Hume on Money	104	(10)
Hume on Interest and Trade---Precursors of Adam Smith	114	(11)
General Survey of Smith's Intentions---The Wealth of Nations: Analytical (I)	125	(8)
The Wealth of Nations: Analytical (II)	133	(10)
The Wealth of Nations: Analytical (III)---Policy (I)	143	(10)
The Wealth of Nations: Policy (II)	153	(12)
C. NINETEENTH-CENTURY CLASSICISM	165	(64)
General Review---Malthus on Population	167	(9)
Value and Distribution: Historical Origin---Analytical (I)	176	(9)
Value and Distribution: Analytical (II)	185	(7)
Value and Distribution: Analytical (III)	192	(9)
Overall Equilibrium	201	(9)
International Trade	210	(9)
John Stuart Mill	219	(10)
D. OTHER MID-NINETEENTH-CENTURY THOUGHT	229	(18)
Mill (cont.)---Saint-Simon and Marx	231	(7)
Marx (cont.)---List and the Historical School	238	(9)
E. BEGINNINGS OF MODERN ANALYSIS	247	(74)
The Historical School (cont.)---Precursors of Change: Cournot, von Thunen, and Rae	249	(9)
The Marginal Revolution (I): Jevons	258	(10)
The Marginal Revolution (II): Jevons and Menger	268	(9)
The Marginal Revolution (III): Costs (Wieser)---The Pricing of Factor Services (Wieser, Clark, Wicksteed)	277	(8)
Capital Theory: Bohm-Bawerk and Fisher	285	(10)
Walras---Pareto	295	(8)
Marshall	303	(9)
Money: Fisher, Marshall, Wicksell	312	(9)
Afterword The Further Evolution of the Subject	321	(16)
Appendix A Robbins'Reading List	337	(10)
Appendix B Robbins' Writings in the History of Economic Thought	347	(6)
References	353	(18)
Index	371