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Great little book

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In the tradition of Robert Heilbroner's The Worldly Philosophers, Skousen takes us through a spirited and fascinating introduction to the great economists and their ideas.

Skousen is passionate about his subject and it shows. The discussions are lively, detailed, clear, and concise, and often filled with interesting details about the economists' personal lives. I thought I knew Marx's life well, but I still learned some new things--such as the fact that Marx, always thought a devoted father--had an illegitimate son which Engels agreed to raise as his own, not admitting it until he was on his deathbed ten years after Marx died. One of Marx's surviving daughters (only two of his six children survived childhood), committed suicide on hearing the news.

Engels, who helped Marx throughout his life--sometimes even writing his newspaper pieces for him when Marx couldn't be bothered to earn a living as a journalist--was a wealthy industrialist who personally benefited from the capitalistic system he and Marx despised--despite the fact that there is no evidence that Engels tried to improve the lot of the workers in the factory in England that he operated for his father.

The book isn't just about the three great economists, though, Smith, Marx, and Keynes; dozens of important economists and their ideas get discussed, and how their ideas were different or similar to the big three. Oftentimes the discussion of the big three's ideas serve as jumping off points for discussions of other theories and ideas. There were so many people whose ideas I once knew well but that over the years had faded, that it was a real pleasure to become reacquainted with their ideas once again, men like Montesquieu, Ricardo, Say, Condorcet, Chantillon, Clark, Marshall, Wicksell, Fisher, von Mises, Hayek, Samuelson, Arrow, Friedman, and many others.

Having at least a basic econ course or introductory econ text under your belt would help, but it's not necessary to read this book. I think an intelligent layman could still read it, and then if an unfamiliar idea comes up, you could look it up on Wikipedia or the Britannica or something and read the brief article there and then you'd be back on your way. I do this all the time now in subjects I'm rusty on and it usually works pretty well. For science subjects, the Britannica has an edge, and for history related questions, the World Book is probably better. If you get the DVD versions they're quite affordable and I love having them on my laptop where they're always convenient. But usually I just go out to Wikipedia.

Skousen's book is a well-written, readable, and fascinating account of the great economist's ideas and their lives. It's packed with great information and is about the best brief review of important economic concepts I've come across. In an era when basic econ books can run to 900-1000 pages, there's a lot to be said for a smaller book like this, being only 241 pages. He has a detectable bias toward unfettered and unregulated capitalistic markets, and his descriptions of economists who advanced those positions are more flattering than the socialistically oriented economists, but that's the only caveat I would mention for the book. Overall, it's really a great little book and well worth your time and money.

Great Primer on History of Economic Thought

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This book is an easy-to-read and informative introduction to the history of economic thought. Specifically, the author focuses on the three most influential economists in history: Adam Smith, Karl Marx and John Maynard Keynes. Please note that this book focuses on economic *ideas* not on economic models.

Although the big three are the focus of the book, other important economists and their influence are discussed. This includes, but is not limited to, the following:

* David Ricardo and the introduction of the Ricardian vice
* Thomas Malthus and the conception of Malthusian crises
* the Marginalists (William Stanley Jevons, Carl Menger and Leon Walras) and their alternative to the labor theory of value
* Ludwig von Mises and the rest of the Austrian School
* Paul Samuelson and his influence in championing the ideas of Keynes
* Milton Friedman and his influence in changing perceptions as to how bad monetary policy, not capitalism, caused the Great Depression.

The author, Mark Skousen, is a prolific free market economist who is largely influenced by the Austrian school but also is very friendly towards Milton Friedman and Adam Smith. In addition to delineating the rich history in economic ideas, Skousen dissects where the ideas of Marx and Keynes fall short and persuasively argues why the more pro-laissez-faire an economist is, the better his ideas tend to be. Thus, Skousen concludes that Adam Smith offers the most important ideas of the big three and hopes to encourage a revival of free market thinking in the United States.

I wish to stress that this is more of an introductory book on this fascinating subject. There are many more in-depth books on economic thought for those wishing a more thorough history. These include Mark Skousen's The Making of Modern Economics (a more thorough overview), Mark Skousen's Vienna or Chicago: Friends or Foes, Thomas Sowell's Marxism, Thomas Sowell's On Classical Economics and Henry Hazlitt's The Failure of the New Economics (thoroughly dissects the ideas of Keynes).

History of economics well told

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A very good an clear book. The author is a fan af Adam Smith and across the book everything is measured through the lenses of Smithian economics.
The author is capable of rendering the dismal science an exciting subject.
I recommend this book to all interested in understanding how economics ideas are intertwined with history and with everyday's life.

The three big mistakes

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It is not that there are three big mistakes, it is just that the title would be cool. I dont think the book is bad, but I was kind of disappointed with it, since its economics are very limited and simple. I am sure it is a great book for people interested in Econ, but not for an Econ major.


=)

I've rarely seen something this complex made this clear.

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Skousen has really accomplished something with this book. If the average college professor could convey the information in their field of study with this kind of penetrating clarity, a lot more people would really understand what they learn, rather than just preparing to parrot it back for a test.

This book captures a broad cross-section of the ideas and history behind modern economic thought and ties it all neatly together by linking everything with the simple idea of relating it to Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and John Maynard Keynes. It's brilliant in its simplicity. Skousen starts by saying these are the three you really need to know. Then he says they aren't created equal and ranks them out: #1 Smith, #2 Keynes, #3 Marx. Seems like nothing, but all of a sudden you have a simple and solid mental framework from which to hang the rest of what Skousen tells you.

For each of Skousen's three main characters, you learn about the thinkers that laid the foundation for each of them (or in Smith's case, the lack thereof). You also learn about the historic events that spurred each of them to come up with their theories. You learn each of their theories, then finally - and so critically - you learn in plain English the shortcomings of each of the theories (fatal in two cases).

All of a sudden, you have a deeper understanding of the history and ideas of economics than a lot people who majored in the subject. And because of Skousen's entertaining writing style, you never really noticed how much you were learning.

Kudos to Mark Skousen. I wish more people (myself included) could write like this.

If you've ever had even the slightest interest in economics, do yourself a favor and read this book. You'll be glad you did.