تاریخ مختصر اندیشه‌های اقتصادی

by Bo Sandelin, حمیدرضا ارباب (Translator)

This book provides an elementary introduction to the history of economic thought and has been considerably overhauled and updated since the appearance of the first edition in 2002. A chapter is devoted to each of the major developments in the history of the discipline, with a brand new introduction setting the scene.
This short history of economic thinking covers large ground by outlining the main schools of thought and paradigm shifts in the field. Greater coverage is allowed to the major Anglo-American trends while retaining the innovative coverage of mainland European thinking so characteristic of the original. In the final chapter, the authors draw together some of the key strands and comment on some major works and textbooks in the history of economic ideas. The book concludes by reflecting on the changes in economic thinking within the general context of the philosophy of science

Genres: Economics, History, Nonfiction

199 pages, Paperback

First published February 25, 1999

Reviews

[Negar Afsharmanesh · Rating 3 out of 5]

کتاب ، کتاب خوبیه برای کسی که میخواد وارد بحث های اقتصادی بشه. خیلی پایه ای همه جوانب رو توضیح داده، مبحث پول، بازار، عرضه و تقاضا، اندیشه های کلاسیک و نئو کلاسیک و توضیح داده همه رو.
خب راستش و بخوام بگم کتاب دیگه خیلی پایه ای بود و خب بیشتر اطلاعات کتاب و میدونستم برای کسی که هیچی از اقتصاد نمیدونه و تازه انگار میخواد اطلاعات خیلی پایه ای کسب کنه خوبه.

[Ali Momeni]

عنوان کتاب که لفظ "مختصر" تو اون به کار رفته نباید باعث شه مخاطب فریب بخوره و فکر کنه این کتاب برای هر قشری و به صورت همه فهم نوشته شده.تو جاهای مختلف کتاب از مفاهیم اقتصادی ای استفاده شده که فقط با داشتن مطالعه ی تخصصی تو زمینه ی علم اقتصاد میشه متوجه اونا شد و تعریف های مختصر و موجز کتاب کمکی به فهم اون مفهوم نمیکنه.نهایتا میتونه برای کسی که پیش از این با این مفاهیم آشنا بوده یه یادآوری خوب باشه.
ولی به هر حال خلاصه کردن این حجم تقریبا عظیم از تاریخ اندیشه های اقتصادی بشر,کار دشوار و ارزشمندیه که برای مخاطب خاص خودش میتونه مفید باشه.
هر چند من بیشتر با نظر نویسنده ی کتاب تو سطرهای پایانی موافقم که میگه:
"کسانی که به شدت به مطالعه ی نظریه های اقتصادی جدید یا قدیمی علاقه مند هستند هیچ چیز جانشین تجربه خواندن کارهای اصلی و درک عمیق آنها نیست"

[Gustav Osberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

While reading Das Kapital, I felt like I needed a better grasp of the historical context and continuities in which Marx wrote. To this end, this was a useful little excursion to see, for example, how Adam Smith conceptualised use- and exchange-value and David Ricardo's version of the labour theory of value. Viewing this history through the lens of negation, it was also interesting to note that the idea of market equilibrium (and the invisible hand) seemingly came from the Physiocrats in the 1700s, who believed in a 'natural order' for both nature and society, which were disturbed by the 'bad' laws of mercantilism. Private ownership was, for example, part of this natural order.

Also interesting to note that both Adam Smith and John Stuart Mill did not believe in the idea of perpetual growth, but that, after a while, the economy would come to rest in a stationary state (which in Mill's case would allow us to spend our time doing 'better things'). This makes Smith and Mill more compatible with the Ecological Economics concept of 'steady-state economy' than that of neoliberalism (however, this latter doctrine was never known for its theoretical coherency, see A Brief History of Neoliberalism).

The chapter on Marx made him no justice (along with the founding socialist and anarchist thinkers); I don't know if I expected anything else, though. Sandelin et al. are, however, right to point out that Marx was the first significant thinker who considered the issues of both crises and class in his analysis.

The further you get in the book, the more economical the language gets, and for someone not trained in the discipline, it gets harder to follow (especially since everything is so condensed, given the book's short length). However, this is not only a product of a lack of pedagogical writing but also due to the fact that the Austrian School marked a moment in which the political disappeared from the economic (at least in language). The moral (and thus political) element is concealed and (mainstream) Economics becomes the discipline freed from social relations it is today. (Of course, the authors don't highlight this very last point, the term neoliberalism is not once mentioned, for example).

[Elia Mantovani · Rating 1 out of 5]

Certainly it is to be considered more like a handbook rather than a readable and enjoyable essay. Many passages are superboring and incredibly school-like. Moreover, it is too shallow in many parts concerning the great historical economists.

[Viktor Nilsson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boken är lättläst så till vida att texterna är kortfattade och meningarna simpla. Men det är knappast pedagogiskt. Boken är full av utländska citat (måste man lära sig tyska och franska först för att få studera ekonomi?) som inte heller översätts. Beskrivningar om en tänkare sker ofta genom att jämföra denne med andra tänkare, vilka ännu inte introducerats, eller i värsta fall inte blir introducerade senare heller. Mycket av skrivandet verkar mest syfta till att visa på författarnas fantastiska vokabulär och finkulturella stil.

Huvudproblemet är att boken går igenom alldeles för många tänkare. De flesta nämns endast i uppradningar (se t.ex. hela 12 av dem radas upp på sida 29). Andra ges istället väldigt precisa detaljer som är helt irrelevanta då man inte får bekanta sig med deras grundfilosofi. Några av de största äldre tänkarna presenteras dock på ett mer pedagogiskt sätt. Men problemet kvarstår - att introducera 175 personer (enligt registret) på 146 sidor brödtext går helt enkelt inte.

Varför inte lite mer utdragna, pedagogiska förklaringar av enskilda representativa tänkare ur varje kategori istället? Ett bok som gör just detta, och som jag kan rekommendera istället är A Little History of Economics.

[Ali Moosavi · Rating 1 out of 5]

چهل صفحه آخر کتاب رو نتونستم بخونم.
به نظرم کتاب برای کسی مناسبه که تا حدودی با اندیشه ها و اصطلاحات اقتصادی آشنایی داره و خیلی جاها نویسنده فقط اشاره میکنه و میگه فلان اقتصاددان چنین نظریاتی داده و دیگه توضیحی نمیده.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best history of economic thought that I've ever read... Could have done with a glossary if really intended for beginners or students of related disciplines. Last chapter particularly interesting.