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CHOICE Review

Brockway, president of the board of governors of Yale University Press, columnist for The New Leader, contributor of articles to the Journal of Post Keynesian Economics and other magazines, joins the ranks of those who have, of late, found conventional, mainstream economics wanting as an explanation of how our economy works and as a basis for policy decisions. His analysis is sometimes brilliant, always highly independent, often perceptive and informative, and frequently controversial. Underlying his evaluation, both of economic theory and policy, is his conviction that economics is not a science, like physics. He argues that it is not and should not be value free. It should be thought of as a branch of ethics. Also Basic to his analysis is his assumption that human behavior is based on self-assertion rather than self-interest. He argues, too, that fully competitive markets seldom exist, hence cannot be assumed in formulating public policy. Remedies for many public problems should be direct, rather than indirect, through government action, if necessary, rather than by slow, indirect market processes that involve excessive social costs. It is with these preconceptions that the author examines a variety of related topics, such as exchange, money, banking, labor, capital, speculation, property, business structure, justice, protection, and inflation. Readable and stimulating. Recommended. Other excellent titles on this subject include Thomas Balogh, The Irrelevance of Conventional Economics (CH, Sep '82) and Ezra Mishan, What Political Economy Is All About: An Exposition and Critique (CH, Apr '83).-P.M. Titus, emeritus, Kenyon College