The Corruption of Economics: Neoclassical Economics as a Strategem against Henry George

Condemning the post-industrial economy to protracted periods of economic failure, this thought-provoking book documents how the integrity of economics as a discipline was deliberately compromised in the United States towards the end of the 19th century. Several chairs of economics were funded at leading universities to rebrand economics to justify unearned income. The tools for this strategy became neo-classical economics, and, unlike classical economists like Adam Smith who described wealth as the product of three factors—land, labor, and capital—the new theorists reduced these to two: labor and capital, thus treating land as capital. This concealed the benefits enjoyed by those in receipt of the rent from land. The effect, the authors reveal, was to deprive professional economists of the ability to diagnose problems, forecast important trends, and prescribe solutions. Table of Contents Introduction: The Power of Neo-classical Economics 4 I. The Imperative to Put Down Henry George 6 I-A. The crabbed spirit of neo-classical economics 6 I-B. Popular responsiveness to problem-solvers 6 I-C. Henry George as reconciler and problem-solver 11 II. The Empire Strikes Back with Neo-classical Economics 14 II-A. Personal Involvement of George with Early Neo-classicals 15 John B. Clark 15 Seligman, Wicksteed, Marshall & Walker 23 Edwin R.A. Seligman 23 Philip Wicksteed 25 Alfred Marshall 26 Francis A. Walker 27 II-B. Other Economic Writers Criticizing Henry George 30 Charles Spahr 30 Alvin S. Johnson 31 Frank A. Fetter 34 Richard T. Ely 37 Ely continued 44 Edgeworth & Pareto 51 Francis Y. Edgeworth 51 Vilfredo Pareto 54 Knight, King & Plehn 58 Frank H. Knight 58 Willford I. King 61 Carl C. Plehn 61 The Bitter Harvest 64 A. Worsening condition of labour 64 B. Worsening returns to capital 65 C. The concentration of wealth and income is high and rising 66 D. Social problems we thought were cured are returning to haunt us. 67 E. The national stature is dropping fast 68 References 70 Bibliography 74 Henry George, Dr. Edward McGlynn, and Pope Leo XIII 91 1. Turbulent times 91 2. Heritage of those times 92 3. Neglect of Catholic economics in Gaffney and Harrison (1994), Corruption of Economics 92 4. Wide and sustained influence of Rerum Novarum 93 5. Leo's outlook 94 6. Evidence of anti-Georgist intent 95 7. The silent treatment 99 8. Excursions and alarums 102 9. Conclusion 102 Bibliography 104 Interview: Is There a Conspiracy in the Teaching of Economics and History within the American Education System? 107 Alfred Russel Wallace's Campaign to Nationalize Land: How Darwin's Peer Learned from John Stuart Mill and became Henry George's ally 116 References 120 Documents how the integrity of economics as a discipline was compromised towards the end of the nineteenth century with the rise of neo-classical economics. This book is for those who know there is something wrong with our system but cannot put their finger on what it is.