Economic theory in retrospect

This is a fully revised third edition of a book that has already made a name for itself as a unique textbook on the history of economic thought. Teachers who have long deplored the antiquarian flavor of so many books in this field will welcome a text such as this one which studies theories rather than theorists, and which focuses on the logical coherence and explanatory value of the mainstream of economic ideas, undiluted by biographical coloring or historical digressions.
Students who have grown weary of reading secondhand commentaries on the great economists, which bring them no nearer to direct acquaintances with the original masterpieces of economics, will derive fresh Inspiration from the detailed Reader's Guides provided here: chapter by chapter, and sometimes paragraph by paragraph, the author takes us through the leading works of Adam Smith, David Ricardo, John Stuart Mill, Karl Marx, Alfred Marshall, Philip Wicksteed, and Knut Wicksell. A series of of annotated bibliographies then guide the student through the enormous literature that has grown up around these classics.
For the present edition, the last two chapters of the book on Keynesian aconomics and economic methodology have been entirely rewritten in the light of recent debates on the disequilibrium interpretation of Keynes and the structure of scientific revolutions among philosophers of science. The chapter on the Ricardian System now contains a new section on Sraffa viewed as Ricardo-in-modern-dress. The chapter on Marx is likewise enlarged to take account of the rejuvenation of Marxian economics in recent years. Similarly, the reswitching debate that has filled the pages of economic journals over the last few years is reflected in a sharpening of issues in the chapter on the Austrian theory of capital.
The final outcome of all these revisions is a book in the same spirit as the original but geared to the theoretical concerts of the 1970s rather than the 1960s.