About: Influential Books and Other Writings: The Communist Manifesto (1848) Das Kapital, three volumes (1867–1883) Key Concepts:
Author Archives: jcoartney
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841-1935)
About: Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. had a long and varied career, culminating as a supreme court justice. Menard provides insight into Holmes’ economic views: “In the seventy years that Holmes lived after the war [American Civil War 1861-1865], the chief struggle in America was the struggle between capital and labor. Nearly every judicial opinion for …
The Metaphysical Club: A Story of Ideas in America
Menard’s (2002)The Metaphysical Club, provides an in-depth view of many of the ideas. Through a series of lenses, Menard sets the stage to explore the formation of ideas,including American pragmatism and pluralism. The book culminates in an in-depth look at the lives—and influences that shaped those lives—of Charles Pierce, James Williams, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and …
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References
Menand, L. (2002). The metaphysical club: A story of ideas in America. Macmillan. Skidelsky, R. (2020). What’s Wrong with Economics?. Yale University Press.
Classical Economists
Thomas Malthus (1766-1834)
About: Over 200 years ago, Malthus theorized about the consequences of population growth. Some people still use Malthusian theory as a basis for representing population growth in today’s global economy. Using a system that included the proportion of proportion of births to marriages as well as births to burials, Malthus theorized that population growth is …
American Revolution
Adam Smith
About: Also known as the father of capitalism, Smith’s book, Wealth of Nations, provides the foundation of modern capitalist theory. The key elements of the classical free market economy (capitalism) include a focus on how the roles of self-interest and competition balance one another. The free market is a curious paradox and “self-regulates”, guarding against …