The commonly held view that an ethical approach to arms sales is desirable but ‘unaffordable’ because jobs and exports are at stake is challenged by Samuel Brittan. He argues that it arises from a failure to understand the circular flow of income, the fallacy of a ‘lump of...

Roger Backhouse's book The Ordinary Business of Life is a comprehensive history of economic thought, from the ancient Greeks to the present day. It will be useful both to specialist economists and to people with a smattering of economic ideas who want to fill in the historical gaps. Backhouse's...