The Making of Modern Economics
(M. E. Sharpe, 2001)
BOOK FORUMWednesday, April 4, 2001
11:00 a.m.
Featuring the author Mark Skousen, Editor, Forecasts & Strategies and columnist for Forbes magazine, with comments by Peter Boettke, George Mason University.
The Cato Institute
1000 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001
Watch the Event in Real Video
Listen to the Event in Real Audio (Audio Only)
The remarkable story of free-market capitalism's long-running battle against Keynesianism, Marxism, socialism, and other "isms" is largely unknown outside economic circles. Yet it is a compelling drama, complete with a hero, Adam Smith, and his celebrated "system of natural liberty." The plot involves many unexpected twists: sometimes our hero is left for dead, only to be resuscitated by his free-market allies. The story even has a surprise ending. In his new book, The Making of Modern Economics: The Lives and Ideas of the Great Thinkers, economist Mark Skousen unifies the story of economics by ranking all major economic thinkers as either friends or foes of Smith's "invisible hand" doctrine. He provides a comprehensive review and critique of every major economic school-including classical economics, Keynesianism, monetarism, Austrian economics, institutionalism, and Marxism-and records the lives and ideas of influential economists often ignored in other histories. Please join the author for a discussion of his book, followed by expert commentary.