Analysing the relationship between economic thought and capitalism from 1750 to the present, Douglas Dowd examines the dynamic interaction of two processes: the historical realities of capitalism and the evolution of economic theory. He demonstrates that the study of economics celebrates capitalism in ways that make it necessary to classify economic science as pure ideology. A thoroughly modern history, this book shows how economics has become ideology. A radical critic of capitalism, Dowd surveys its detrimental impact across the globe and throughout history.

The book includes biographical sketches and brief analyses of the major proponents and critics of capitalism throughout history, including Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, Karl Marx, Thorstein Veblen, Rosa Luxemburg, John Maynard Keynes, Paul Samuelson, Milton Friedman, and Eric Hobsbawm. This new edition includes a new preface and an additional chapter by the author.

About the Author
Douglas Dowd was a widely respected academic and political activist. He taught at Cornell University, Johns Hopkins University, University of California, Berkeley, San Jose State University and at the University of Modena in Italy. He is the author of Capitalism and its Economics (Pluto, 2004), Inequality and the Global Economic Crisis (Pluto, 2009) and Understanding Capitalism (Pluto, 2000).


Book Information
ISBN 9780745322797
Author Douglas Dowd
Format Paperback
Page Count 344
Imprint Pluto Press
Publisher Pluto Press
Weight(grams) 507g