Duncan K. Foley

Good overview of the classical political economists, especially Marx. 20th Century economists were a bit brief, but well written and understandable. The marginalists section was probably the most convoluted, maybe it’s just the nature of the school itself - but this could have focused more on specific characters rather than brush strokes.

I didn't really agree with Foley's reading of Adam Smith, but at least in reading this book I was motivated to read the whole thing of Smith's [b:An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations|20654333|An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations|Adam Smith|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1391049951s/20654333.jpg|1373762] to better understand Smith's arguments.

The term refers to the idea that private selfishness of individuals translates to a public good in the aggregate. At the end of my reading, I don’t have many conclusions really. I’ve got an idea of further reading I want to delve into. I’ve got enough information from this book to start drawing a map of where I want to go. But it’s certainly not enough to draw any conclusions beyond a confirmation from a fairly eminent economist that my distaste with my econ professor was justified. show more And a bit more ability to make my distaste cogent in argument form.

(Full review at my blog,) show less