The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times, and Ideas of the Great Economic Thinkers

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Adam Smith (1723-90), a quiet, nervous, scholarly Scottish bachelor, taught first at Oxford University and then at the University of Glasgow. Even if a Revolution has been avoided, the outcome is not the self-regulating equilibrium the Caterpillarists were seeking. A truly humanistic approach, Schumpeter's evaluation leaves hope that there's always room at the top for the tinkerer, the visionary, or the risk-taker.

Capital The physical necessities for production — buildings, machinery, tools, equipment, and supplies. Often gossipy and trivial, focusing on personal details (Veblen is an interesting cat--but this is economics? The early capitalists were protected by government control, subsidies, and monopolies and made their profits from transporting goods.

According to Smith, a simple factory worker, in comparison with an African king, lives a more luxurious life as a result of the work of specialized labor. Workers, he predicted, would, in time, receive full remuneration for their toil while owners will derive value equivalent only to the resources they contributed. Apart from the competition between merchants, the opposing forces represented class interests, the Caterpillarist and the Working Class.

To the extent that the Caterpillarist has any capital, it reflects the profit previously made from other Workers’ labor. From the beginning of civilization, human beings have faced the challenge of survival, which depends upon two factors — work and cooperation with others. A new chapter conveys a concern that today's increasingly "scientific" economics may overlook fundamental social and political issues that are central to economics.The invisible hand of the market is working away behind the scenes, yes, invisibly, just like God is supposed to.