The State and the Economic System

This study traces the history of economic thought over the past 300 years, from its emergence as a scientific discipline in the 17th century to modern times and the reaction that set in against the policies associated with the age of "economic management" that reached its climax in the period following the Second World War. The argument of the book rests on the twin themes of the economist's desire to be a scientist - seeking regularities and patterns in economic behaviour - and his desire to answer the need of central government for reliable advice on the workings of the economic system - advice which is often highly specific in time and place. The author discusses the development of the discipline with reference to the ways in which the broader context of moral, scientific and political ideas and events have influenced successive economists' vision of the operations of the changing economic system and their views of the scope for purposive state action to shape the process of change. The views of some of the thinkers in the field are summarized with short outlines of methodological problems.