Who's Afraid of Adam Smith?: How the Market Got Its Soul

ISBN-13: 9780471720904 / Angielski / Miękka / 2005 / 223 str.

Peter J. Dougherty

Opis

"Peter Dougherty does the near-impossible in this brilliant book . . . he] makes economics engaging and accessible."
--Professor Larry J. Sabato, University of Virginia In this spirited and timely book, Peter Dougherty shows how economists are drawing on Adam Smith's civic writings to illuminate how the market creates not only fiscal capital, but "social capital." Dougherty demonstrates how Smith's ideas are currently experiencing a renaissance. He then explores several impressive initiatives to demonstrate what today's theoretical and practicing economists are accomplishing in the spirit of Adam Smith's moral sentiments: the institutional reform of transitional and developing economies; the financing of new technological, medical, and educational initiatives; and the economic revival of cities. Capitalism pervades every aspect of our daily life. Peter Dougherty now offers a fascinating peek at its hidden soul.

Spis treści

1. Letter Man 1

2. The Instructions 21

3. The Warning 30

4. Little Platoons 36

5. Enlightenment Wonk 47

6. Soul Survivors 65

7. Dragon Slayers 85

8. Comeback Kid 109

9. Kitchen Chemists 123

10. Egg Men 148

11. Urban Outfitters 167

Epilogue: Go with the Flow 185

Notes 191

Bibliography 210

Index 215

O autorze

PETER J. DOUGHERTY is Publisher and Senior Economics Editor of Princeton University Press. His occasional writings have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Journal of Economic Literature, Economics and Portfolio Strategy, the Chronicle of Higher Education, and the American Sociologist.

Blurb

Praise for Who′s Afraid of Adam Smith?

"Mr. Dougherty examines the ways in which various thinkers are now applying Smith′s principles to the task of cultivating a civil society. . . . [Dougherty] makes it clear that when we remain true to Adam Smith′s original moral intentions, only the naive of the nursery school need fear him."
Darrin M. McMahon, The Wall Street Journal

"It′s reminiscent of a wide–ranging coffee–shop conversation with a charming and knowledgeable enthusiast who truly believes economics matters as it does. Dougherty can′t resist the intriguing insight, the scholarly nuance that advances our understanding of how a market economy works."
Christopher Farrell, BusinessWeek Online

"Who′s Afraid of Adam Smith? is perfectly accessible to any intelligent reader. And when reaching for a metaphor, Dougherty is more likely to use popular references to films like Raising Arizona or The Godfather than appeals to economic principles or theory."
Rob Norton, Journal of Economic Literature

"Dougherty shows how succeeding generations of economists have taken what they liked from Smith while leaving a good deal of valuable insight in the attic. Today′s economists at last are performing an inventory, in the name of building a better understanding of the nature of the complicated civil society that undergirds our economic system."
David Warsh, Economic Principals

"A fascinating journey into the history of economic thought as it took root from Adam Smith′s ideas by such economists like Marshall, Keynes, Samuelson, Friedman, Romer, and Markowitz amongst others is limned by the author. It is spellbinding for anybody interested in economics."
Chetan Parihk, Capital Ideas Online

" . . . retrieves Smith′s forgotten side for the average reader . . . lively tour of economic thought . . ."
Roger Lowenstein, SmartMoney