The Classical School

The Birth of Economics in 20 Enlightened Lives

By: Callum Williams

Narrated by: Sean Patrick Hopkins

Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

A fascinating chronicle of the lives of 20 economists who played major roles in the evolution of global economic thought.

What was Adam Smith really talking about when he mentioned the "invisible hand"? Did Karl Marx really predict the end of capitalism? Did Thomas Malthus (from whose name the word Malthusian derives) really believe that famines were desirable?

In The Classical School, Callum Williams debunks popular myths about these great economists and explains the significance of their ideas in an engaging way. After listening to this audiobook, you will know much more about the very famous (Smith, Ricardo, Mill) and the not-quite-so-famous (Bernard de Mandeville, Friedrich Engels, Jean-Baptiste Say). The audiobook offers an assessment of what they wrote, the impact it had, and the worthiness of their ideas. It's far from the final word on any of these people but a useful way of understanding what they were all about, at a time when understanding these economic giants is perhaps more important than ever.

©2020 The Economist Newspaper Ltd (P)2020 Hachette Audio

Very Good Book

I heard an interview of the author and thought it sounded like a good book. I got it as soon as it was released and I am pleased to say I was right. This is a very good book and well worth reading.

a terrific insightful perspective

I really enjoyed this book. Telling the story of the evolution of economic theories by connecting them with real people made for a fascinating read/listen.

Where is James Steuart?

This book is very disappointing on many levels. The author does a decent job wiith some of the early classicals. But Jevons and Marshall are not classical economists. They are founders of neoclassical economics, which prevails today. i dont think this author understands what classifys an economist as classical. And he includes 2 people who contributed little to nothing to economic theory, which the author admits. i have studied history of thought and never heard of them. He bad mouths Marx in an almost comical way, saying he was basically a drunken lout who ignored his family, cheated on his wife and broke street lamps. He lived in poverty and mooched off of Engels, and on top of it all, was an antisemetic Jew.

With all this, why didn't he mention that Emma Goldman was shot in the head by Nazis in Germany who purged communists, after being deported from the US by Woodrow Wilson's left-purging Palmer raids? That seems more historically relevant than the assertion that Marx possibly impregnating his housekeeper. And where is James Steuart, an important early classical econonomist?

The author also makes fun of the classicals focus on value, which neoclassical economists intentionally ignore. it is important, and thankfully Marianna Mazzucato has recently done a good treatment of it.

Read Michael Hudson if you want to understand the contributions of the classicals. They made important points that todays neoclassical (and neoliberal) economists intentionally avoid. it is easier to add a bunch of unnecssary theoretical stuff that no one else understands than deal
head-on with problems like poverty, inequality, and yes, imperialism. (Read John Perkins '"Confessions of an economic hitman" if you are curious about how economics supports imperialism).

Like the vast majority of economists, the author does not understand broader history and how economics both contributed and was affected by it. We have so much industry concentration not only because of technical efficiencies but also because we essentially stopped enforcing antitrust laws. There are many books out now explaining this, starting with Matt Stollers "Goliath".

This book was a good idea not well-implemented. It is a shame. i hope someone will do a better job in the future. Or maybe this author might read some Hudson, Perkins, Mazzucato and also look into the work of Anwar Shaikh for future editions.

FYI, I am an economist, with all the requisite degrees and 30+ years of experience.