The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free Markets Since the Depression

Johns Hopkins economic historian Burgin tells the story of free market theory in a masterful intellectual history that covers the 1930s to the 1970s. Keynes and the Keynesians declared laissez-faire over and done in the 1930s, Burgin observes, but 50 years later, free market economics had revived and in fact “debates in the Anglo-American public sphere were permeated” with the idea; Keynesianism was a “relic.” Burgin traces the development of the principles that challenged Keynes and statism—and still do—dwelling on the profound impact of Friedrich von Hayek and Milton Friedman. He describes the astonishing and unexpected popular success of Hayek’s The Road to Serfdom and traces Milton Friedman’s role in popularizing free market economics. Friedman identified not with conservatives or the investor class but with small business. In contrast to Hayek, he moves beyond academic circles, writing for Newsweek and Playboy to broaden the reach of his ideas. Burgin covers a complex subject clearly and free of cant. This thoughtful and well-researched study proves once again, as Keynes himself said, that we are all slaves of defunct economists. (Oct.)