You might think you know what economics is about. Input-output, supply and demand, etcetera, etcetera. In a way, you’d be right. The word economics comes from the ancient Greek – oikos for house, and nomos for law. For the Greeks, economics was about managing households. Those who refuse to learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. Economics can help guide policy in a sensible direction; but the misuse of economics has also left individuals, companies, and countries in ruin. To understand what economics has got right—and to avoid repeating its mistakes—read this book."—Simon Johnson, Professor at MIT Sloan and author of 13 Bankers In A Little History of Economics , Niall Kishtainy details the complex trajectory of economics from ancient Greece to the present, drawing on a wealth of historical knowledge, illuminating anecdotes and examples as well as imaginative metaphors to trace the evolution of economic thinking. But, asks Madeline McSherry , where are the women in this history? This book is primarily about economic ideas, especially as related to the economic life and policies of their times. Often, this historical context promotes greater appreciation of old ideas that otherwise might be dismissed lightly. Conversely, when an economist published predictions, Kishtainy may remind readers of subsequent history; some economists, say, Malthus, don’t fare so well by this measure. However, Kishtainy is not heavy handed, and tends to leave criticism implicit. En realidad, y a diferencia de otras ciencias, te cruzas con ideas económicas en acción todo el tiempo, teorías, modelos, ideologías: en el mercado cuando usas billetes y monedas para obtener un producto; en el artículo del periódico dónde lees sobre las últimas decisiones del gobierno acerca de la recaudación de impuestos, impuestos que realmente pagas; cuando experimentas los cambios aparentemente impredecibles de los patrones de tiempo atmosférico y que son ahora lo que décadas de decisiones económicas han creado; cuando pagas una hamburguesa que te trae un domiciliario y usas una tarjeta de crédito y canales electrónicos para realizar el intercambio.

John Hobson (1858-1940): Tasarruf kötü bir şeydir. Zenginler harcayamayacak kadar çok kazanırlar. “Tekelci kapitalizm” şartlarında, gelirin çoğu finansçılara gider ve tasarruf edilmiş olur. Daha fazla yatırım, almaya gücü yeten daha az insan demektir. Fabrikalar giderek daha az kar getirir. Tasarruf arttıkça yatırım azalır. Tasarrufu dışarı akıtmak için işgal başlar. Tasarruf emperyalizmin ekonomik anaköküdür. Aşırı tasarrufta çözüm, işgal değil, geliri yeniden bölüşmektir. A great introduction to economics for beginners. This book is punchy and fun, and yet thorough in explaining what economists have contributed to our understanding of the world.”—Robert Shiller, Nobel Laureate in Economics In the early twentieth century, the Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin put Marx’s ideas into practice. He and other economists hypothesized that imperialism, the European practice of taking over foreign territories for profit, had propped up capitalism longer than its natural life cycle. When Lenin overthrew Tsarist Russia in 1917, he set up the world’s first communist state: the Soviet Union, also known as the USSR. It would be, Lenin proclaimed, the enemy of imperialism. A pleasurable and easy way to become familiar with important economic ideas such as comparative advantage, unemployment, aggregate demand, inflation, and income inequality."— Foreign Affairs Platon (İÖ 428-347): Toplum; bronz ruhlu köleler, gümüş ruhlu savaşçılar, altın ruhlu yönetici filozof krallardan oluşur. Servet sahibi olmak kuşkuyla karşılanır.Francis Drake (154.-1596): Kraliçe tüccar ittifakı: “Merkantilizm”. Zenginlik altın ve gümüştür. İthalat kötüdür (“Midas Yanılgısı”: herşey altındır, yiyecek bir şey yoktur. Altın yığını üzerinde oturan “Hobbit ejderhası Smaug” misali). But economics also seeks to explain the differences between societies. Why does Britain have state-of-the-art buildings, teachers, and books to educate its young people, and Burkina Faso doesn’t? No one knows the full answer. But economists are the ones asking the questions.

Kishtainy is guest teacher at the London School of Economics, and has advised UK and UN agencies on economic policy. His selection of topics and economists is broadly international, but with a definite Eurocentric tilt. Vladimir İlyich Lenin (1870-1924: “Tekelci Kapitalizm” (büyük bankalar dev korporasyonları finanse eder, büyük firma tekelleri piyasayı kontrol eder). Emperyalist savaş bir iç savaşa çevrilmelidir. The book is chronological, from early Greek philosophers to twenty-first century economic psychologists, inequality researchers, and others, who are clearly different from the mid-twentieth century mainstream. Overall, Kishtainy gives significant attention to economic thinkers who were outside the consensus of their time. Saint Simon (1760-1825): Soylular ve prenslerin yerine yeteneklilerin yönettiği, insanların beyaz pantolon -sevgi-, kırmızı gömlek -emek-, mavi ceket -inanç- ve de yardımla giyilebilen yelek -insana bağımlılık- kullandığı bir model köy kurmak ister, başarısız olur. Highly readable. . . . A whistle-stop introduction to the great works and thinkers of each age, this is a clear and accessible primer.”—Laura Garmeson, Financial TimesThe key message here is: The first question for early economists was the role of money and merchants. What I enjoyed about this book is how simply and easily the author covers the highlights throughout the history of economics, paying attention to the key ideas and theories as well as influential figures, but without overwhelming an unfamiliar reader such as myself with too much information. After all, the reason why I'm reading this book is to find out just a LITTLE history (and also because it's my reading club's book for April). As a layperson I understand I'm not supposed to become an economics expert from reading this book. This book is merely a good, friendly primer to give me a rough idea of things and to point out the extent of my ignorance when it comes to economic theories.

There is, however, a significant oversight in the book: Kishtainy focuses almost exclusively on the contributions of white, western men. Shouldn’t a history of economics—however ‘little’—include reference to the economic ideas that developed in ancient China and India? The Arthashastra, for instance, was an ancient Indian text that informed economic policy in the empires of South Asia for centuries. Or what about Islamic economics, which flourished as early as the eighth century and still influences much of the banking world today?El libro está muy bien diseñado y escrito. Los capítulos son cortos; las explicaciones son sencillas, aunque tratan temas normalmente muy complejos; el texto cubre una amplia diversidad de tiempos históricos y problemas económicos y tiene una organización relativamente impredecible, es decir, no hay manera de saber de que irá el siguiente capítulo, lo que engancha aún más y evita que esté uno esperando el período histórico o la teoría económica que más le interesa. Raul Prebisch (1901-1986): Ricardo’nun “karşılaştırmalı avantaj teorisi” yanlıştır. Ülkeler arası ticaret, yoksul ülkeleri, ucuz gıda ihracatı, pahalı araba ithalatı tuzağına düşürür. Yoksul ülkeler uzmanlaşmamalı her türlü endüstriyi kurmalıdır. Kapitalizm doğru kararlarla yoksul ülkelere yardımcı olabilir. Although I think this book might have been improved, I still give it high marks. After all, the author of a short book is forced to make choices that not everyone will favor. And Kishtainy’s choices could be defended. The purpose is to give a brief, historical perspective to readers who are laypersons in the subject of economics. Kishtainy has written a book that should hold the interest of his audience and leave them the better for having read it. Hopefully, this book will encourage some to read at greater depth. Vilfredo Pareto (1848-1923): Kimseyi incitip üzmeden, bir kişiyi daha iyi duruma getirmek mümkünse, ekonomi verimsizdir. Bütün değiş tokuşlar yapıldığı zaman “Pareto Etkin” olur. “Refah Teoremine” göre ekonomi dengede olduğunda, israf edilen kaynak olmaz ve birisini kötüleştirmeden, başka birini daha iyi yapmak mümkün değildir. Those who refuse to learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. Economics can help guide policy in a sensible direction; but the misuse of economics has also left individuals, companies, and countries in ruin.To understand what economics has got right—and to avoid repeating its mistakes—read this book."—Simon Johnson, Professor at MIT Sloan and author of 13 Bankers