Synopses & Reviews
The Iron Curtain has been cast aside. The Berlin Wall has fallen. Germany is reunited. And F. A. Hayek's forceful predictions of the inevitable failure of
socialism and central economic planning are now rendered irrefutable. Yet Hayek still rightfully cautions us to heed his arguments, warning that in economics you can never establish a truth once and for all but have always to convince every generation anew.
The Trend of Economic Thinking captures Hayek's views on political economists and economic history--on Mandeville, Hume, Cantillon, Adam Smith, and Henry Thornton. Framed by insightful editorial notes, fifteen newly collected essays--including five previously unpublished pieces and two others never before available in English--provide a fascinating introduction to the historical context of political economy and the evolution of monetary practices. In a highlight of the collection, On Being an Economist, Hayek reflects on the influence of economists, the time required for new ideas to take hold, the best way to educate economic theorists, and the need to follow one's own interests, often in opposition to fashionable beliefs. As always, the words of this outspoken scholar are sure to provoke debate.
Synopsis
In
The Trend of Economic Thinking Hayek presents many of the figures that influenced the development of his economic thought. The articles range from well-known economists such as Mandeville, Hume, Smith, and Bastiat, to lesser-known figures such as Dupuit and Gossen, showing the breadth of Hayek's study of the history of economic thought.
F. A. Hayek (18991992) was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1974 and the Medal of Freedom in 1991 and was one of the leading Austrian economists and political philosophers of the twentieth century.
W. W. Bartley, III (19341990) was a Professor of Philosophy and a Senior Research Fellow at Stanford University and an author.
Stephen Kresge was the General Editor of The Collected Works of F. A. Hayek until his retirement in 2002.
Table of Contents
Editorial Foreword ix
Introduction 5
PART I. THE ECONOMIST AND HIS DISMAL TASK
One
The Trend of Economic Thinking 17
Two
On Being an Economist 35
Three
Two Types of Mind 49
Four
History and Politics 56
PART II. THE ORIGINS OF POLITICAL ECONOMY IN BRITAIN
Five
Francis Bacon: Progenitor of Scientism (1561-1626) 75
Six
Dr. Bernard Mandeville (1670-1733) 79
Seven
The Legal and Political Philosophy of David Hume (1711-1776) 101
Addendum: A Discovery about Hume by Keynes and Sraffa 118
Eight
Adam Smith (1723-1790): His Message in Today's Language 119
Addendum: Review, Adam Smith as Student and Professor 122
PART III. ENGLISH MONETARY POLICY AND THE BULLION DEBATE
Nine
Genesis of the Gold Standard in Response to English Coinage Policy in the 17th and 18th Centuries 127
Ten
First Paper Money in 18th-Century France 155
Eleven
The Period of Restrictions, 1797-1821, and the Bullion Debate in England 177
Twelve
The Dispute Between the Currency School and the Banking School, 1821-1848 216
Thirteen
Richard Cantillon (c.1680-1734) 245
Addenda: On Higgs 290
Fourteen
Henry Thornton (1760-1815) 295
PART IV. CURRENTS OF THOUGHT IN THE 19th CENTURY
Fifteen
Frederic Bastiat (1801-1850), Jules Dupuit (1804-1866), and Hermann Heinrich Gossen (1810-1858) 347
Chronological Order of Contents 373
Bibliographical Note 375
Editor's Acknowledgements 376
Index 377