The Classical Theory Of Economic Policy

"Distributed in the U.S.A. by Barnes & Noble." Bibliography: p. [206]-212.

Economic theory reached its zenith of analytical power and depth of understanding in the middle of the nineteenth century among John Stuart Mill and his contemporaries. This book explains what took place in the ensuing Marginal Revolution and Keynesian Revolution that left economists less able to understand how economies operate. It explores the false mythology that has obscured the arguments of classical economists, providing a pathway into the theory they developed.

'The diligent seeker of truth about our current discontents should turn to. . . The Rediscovery of Classical Economics, by David Simpson. . . Its ostensible object is to resurrect what he calls the "classical tradition" emanating from Adam Smith and distinguish it not only from Keynesian economics but also from today's mainstream known to aficionados as the "neoclassical" orthodoxy. Without going into academic details, this orthodoxy stands accused of replacing a theory of relative prices (how many loaves will buy a pullover) with a more sophisticated account of economic growth, and of foisting on us a theory of "rational expectations" that are anything but rational.' Samuel Brittan, Financial Times 'This book puts human beings back at the heart of the economic process. It shows how this classical, human-centred tradition, stretching from Adam Smith onward, gives us a much better understanding of economic events and what to do about them than the mechanistic, mathematical models of too many economists and planners today.' Eamonn Butler, The Adam Smith Institute, UK 'David Simpson writes about key economic issues with admirable lucidity. He draws deeply on experience as well as on his knowledge of economic theory.' Asa Briggs David Simpson skilfully argues that a market economy can be best understood as a human complex system, a perspective that represents a continuation of the classical tradition in economic thought. In the classical tradition, growth rather than allocative efficiency is the principal object of enquiry, economic phenomena are recognised to be elements of processes rather than structures, and change is evolutionary. The book shows the common principles that connect the early classical school, the Austrian school and complexity theory in a single line of thought. It goes on to show how these principles can be applied to explain the characteristic features of a market economy namely incessant change, growth, the business cycle and the market process itself and argues that static equilibrium theory, whether neoclassical or neo-Keynesian, cannot satisfactorily account for these phenomena. This fascinating book will provide a stimulating read for academics, postgraduate students and all those with an interest in economic theory and economic policy.

This book was originally published by Macmillan in 1936. It was voted the top Academic Book that Shaped Modern Britain by Academic Book Week (UK) in 2017, and in 2011 was placed on Time Magazine's top 100 non-fiction books written in English since 1923. Reissued with a fresh Introduction by the Nobel-prize winner Paul Krugman and a new Afterword by Keynes’ biographer Robert Skidelsky, this important work is made available to a new generation. The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money transformed economics and changed the face of modern macroeconomics. Keynes’ argument is based on the idea that the level of employment is not determined by the price of labour, but by the spending of money. It gave way to an entirely new approach where employment, inflation and the market economy are concerned. Highly provocative at its time of publication, this book and Keynes’ theories continue to remain the subject of much support and praise, criticism and debate. Economists at any stage in their career will enjoy revisiting this treatise and observing the relevance of Keynes’ work in today’s contemporary climate.