Economics as worldly philosophy : essays in political and historical economics in honour of Robert L. Heilbroner

These essays written by students of Robert Heilbroner, develop central themes in his work - the importance of historical perspective in economics, the connection with the great questions of philosophy, and the immediacy of politics. They begin by criticizing the rational maximizing foundations of conventional theory, finding no place there for history. The essays first explore methodology, then technology in relation to history, the politics inherent in economics, and finally, turn to the great Classics, interpreted in relation to modern questions. Front Matter....Pages i-xiii Introduction: History and Vision in Economics....Pages 1-11 Front Matter....Pages 13-13 The Economics of Positive Methodology....Pages 15-21 Neo-classical Economics and Neo-Darwinism: Clearing the Way for Historical Thinking....Pages 22-72 Front Matter....Pages 73-73 Stages of Technical Advance, Industrial Segmentation and Employment: Computer-based Automation in Historical Perspective....Pages 75-103 Front Matter....Pages 105-105 Budget Deficits and the US Economy: Considerations in a Heilbronerian Mode....Pages 107-144 Managed Capitalism versus the Small State: Which is the Formula for Capitalist Success?....Pages 145-160 The Political Economy of Growth and Distribution: Economics, Public Policy and Politics....Pages 161-186 Front Matter....Pages 187-187 Adam Smith between Political Economy and Economics....Pages 189-240 History, Human Nature and Justice in Marx....Pages 241-268 The Commodity as ‘Characteristic Form’....Pages 269-302 Front Matter....Pages 303-303 Quesnay’s Theory of Economic Growth and Decline....Pages 305-321 Adam Smith and the New Economics of Effort....Pages 322-334 Classical Perspectives on Investment: An Exegesis of Behavioural Assumptions....Pages 335-355 Marx and Market Socialism....Pages 356-373 Epilogue....Pages 375-376 Back Matter....Pages 377-397