The Shock Doctrine
Background on Economic Theories
Adam Smith
Biography of Adam Smith, 2002
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A brief account of Adam Smith’s life and work from the Library of Economics and Liberty. This biography emphasizes the free-market aspects of Smith’s philosophy.
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A brief account of Adam Smith’s life and work from the Library of Economics and Liberty. This biography emphasizes the free-market aspects of Smith’s philosophy.
The Betrayal of Adam Smith, 2001
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David Korten explains how free-market ideologues have distorted Smith’s work to meet their own ends in this excerpt from his book, When Corporations Rule the World. Korten points out the differences between Smith’s philosophy and contemporary capitalism, citing several instances where Smith recognized the limits of free markets in promoting overall wellbeing.
Link
David Korten explains how free-market ideologues have distorted Smith’s work to meet their own ends in this excerpt from his book, When Corporations Rule the World. Korten points out the differences between Smith’s philosophy and contemporary capitalism, citing several instances where Smith recognized the limits of free markets in promoting overall wellbeing.
Keynesianism
Description of J.M. Keynes’ Life and Theory, 1999
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An overview of Keynes and his contributions to economics by former U.S. Labor secretary Robert Reich. This Time magazine profile emphasizes that governments must play an important role in managing the economy by deficit spending to avert crises.
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An overview of Keynes and his contributions to economics by former U.S. Labor secretary Robert Reich. This Time magazine profile emphasizes that governments must play an important role in managing the economy by deficit spending to avert crises.
Developmentalism (also known as dependency theory)
An Introduction to Dependency Theory, 1996
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Political Scientist Vincent Ferraro summarizes the major arguments of dependency theory, a school of thought that attributes poverty in developing countries to exploitation by wealthy nations. According to dependency theorists, governments of poor countries need to support domestic industries by regulating trade in order to improve living standards.
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Political Scientist Vincent Ferraro summarizes the major arguments of dependency theory, a school of thought that attributes poverty in developing countries to exploitation by wealthy nations. According to dependency theorists, governments of poor countries need to support domestic industries by regulating trade in order to improve living standards.
