Neoclassical economists of the current era frequently pay lip service to Adam Smith's theories to certify the validity of natural-laws-based, laissez-faire policies. However, neoclassical theories are fundamentally disconnected from Adam Smith's notion of value, his understanding of the economic...

Die moderne Volkswirtschaftslehre als wissenschaftliche Disziplin ist einerseits durch große Uneinheitlichkeit geprägt, die andererseits selbst in Zeiten der Krise der Theorie anscheinend nicht nachhaltig in ein öffentliches Bewusstsein vordringen konnte. Nach wie vor wird die Ökonomik...

Friedrich August von Hayek hat der Nachwelt ein breites theoretisches Werk hinterlassen. Ein durchgängiger Wesenszug darin ist sein spezifischer Liberalismus, der durch einen negativen Begriff von Freiheit bestimmt ist. Damit verbunden ist Hayeks ausgeprägter methodologischer Individualismus....

In the eighteenth century, a fierce political debate broke out in Sweden about the causes of an extraordinary depreciation of its currency. More specifically, the deteriorating value of the Swedish daler was discretionarily blamed on monetary causes, e.g. the overissuing of banknotes, or...

The sciences tell us that fears are physical feelings and mental emotions that play a key role in any society. Not many issues related to fear are explored by economists today. The aim of this paper is to go backwards through the history of economic thought, and examine if and how Adam Smith...

Against the background of modern-day monetary proposals, ranging from a return to the gold standard to the wholesale abolition of currency, this paper seeks to draw implications from David Ricardo's Proposals for an Economical and Secure Currency for plans to reform the operation of central...

What is called 'capitalism' is best understood as a series of stages. Industrial capitalism has given way to finance capitalism, which has passed through pension fund capitalism since the 1950s and a US-centered monetary imperialism since 1971, when the fiat dollar (created mainly to finance US...

This paper argues that despite a growing body of scholarly literature on Sir James Steuart, his theory of history and influence on Marxian political economy has been largely ignored. The approach of this paper is motivated, in part, by Marx's sympathetic treatment of Steuart found in the opening...

Nicolas Dutot (1684-1741) is an important figure for the history of economic thought, as a pioneer in monetary theory and price statistics, and for economic history as a chronicler of John Law's System. Yet until recently very little about him was known, some of it incorrect. I present extensive...

This paper sets out to investigate the forces behind the so-called "global capital flows paradox" and related "dollar glut" observed in the era of advancing financial globalization. The supposed paradox is that the developing world has increasingly come to pursue policies that result in current...