Where does our modern understanding of economics come from? How exactly is a capitalist society intended to function? What does the accumulated knowledge in economics portend for the future of our society?

In attempting to answer these weighty questions, author and economist Robert Heilbroner takes the reader on a journey back in time, winding through pre-capitalist society, industrializing England, and ultimately through to post-war America. Along this journey, we encounter the “worldly philosophers”, the great names in economics that most of us who aren’t economic historians know little of, despite the fact their ideas were often powerful, and many have stood the test of time.

The characters Heilbroner profiles, and they are indeed curious personalities each and every one of them, include Adam Smith, Karl Marx, John Stuart Mill, David Ricardo, John Maynard Keynes, and Joseph Schumpeter among others. Despite living and working across different eras and societies, a common thread unites these thinkers. In the author’s words:

“They were all fascinated by the world about them, by its complexity and its seeming disorder, by the cruelty that it so often masked in sanctimony and the success of which it was equally often unaware. They were all of them absorbed in the behavior of their fellow man, first as he created material wealth, and then as he trod on the toes of his neighbor to gain a share of it.”

Heilbroner’s prose is fantastic, and the book reads smoothly as a dialogue between historian and pupil. Here you will find no complex mathematics or overly drawn out explanations, but rather a concise and brilliantly written retrospective on how the modern field of economics has developed. Do not mistake brevity for simplicity, however. There were a number of portions of this book that I found myself having to reread on more than one occasion, and even now, I could do with a review of each of the great philosopher's economic magnum opus. That said, I still think this is an excellent place to start if you want to begin understanding how economics affects our world today. It is a door to another room, not the castle in and of itself.

Where the book succeeds immensely is in rooting the reader in the context of the ideas of the philosopher at hand. Each chapter begins with an analysis of personality and character, often with amusing anecdotes, as well as a discussion of the realities of the society at the time. For example, in describing Thorstein Veblen’s “merciless and savage examination of society” at the turn of the 20th century, the scene is brilliantly set with discussion of robber baron capitalism and the outlandish excesses of capitalism at that time in American history. Anecdotes are particularly illustrative, such as:

The book is filled with these wonderful moments in history, which effectively establish the earlier alluded to context. I emphasize here because I believe there is a natural tendency to lionize ideas that last beyond their generation of origin, to place on a pedestal philosophy that has stood the test of time to be translated into policy. There is no doubt a great respect that must be paid to the thinkers who came before us, the giants whose shoulders we stand on so to speak. Yet in illuminating the genius of these thinkers and their ideas, the author simultaneously humbles them in pointing out their limitations.

In other words, by understanding the time in which these economic ideas were crafted, and moreover the personalities that crafted them, we can better appreciate the relevance and staying power of these ideas for our modern society. Each chapter is concluded like so, with an examination of how we regard the philosopher today, and what they may have missed in their initial examination of society, perhaps blinded to the future progress of technology or political culture.

I read the 7th edition of this book, published in 1998, but it’s well worth mentioning that much of the original text remains in its originally published form from 1953. Perhaps what I enjoyed most about reading this book was how much its assertions and analysis hold up in today’s economic climate. In 70 odd years, I do not believe that much has changed in our understanding of the worldly philosophers as Heilbroner lays it out. More importantly, by the end of the journey, you feel not only more informed about each thinker’s contributions, but you feel that you perhaps have the ability to understand where things may go next.

Adam Smith
(1723 - 1790)

As a testament to the strength of the author’s vision and critique, I’ll leave you with some of his final words in the book. As you read them, do they sound relevant for our time? As Heilbroner muses in his final chapter, are we at “The End of the Worldly Philosophy?”: