Throughout the history of economic ideas, it has often been asserted that experimentation is impossible, yet, in fact, history shows that the idea of 'experimentation' has always been important, and as such has been interpreted and put to use in many ways. Rich in historical detail, the essays...

Introduction / A.J.H. Latham -- An interview with Peter Mathias / A.J.H. Latham -- Barges and bargemasters on the thames in the eighteenth century / H.I.H. Crown Prince Naruhito -- Edo and water / H.I.H. Crown Prince Naruhito -- Consuming plants : botany and consumer society / Toshio Kusamitsu...

Introduction: the counter-revolution of neoliberalism -- Foucault and beyond -- The building of economics as a science -- The building of individuals as rational agents -- Turning the world into a firm -- Postscript: a new ethics for a new liberalism? -- Index