Book Review- John Rapley’s Twilight of the Money Gods
Twilight of the Money Gods, the title perhaps a nod to Frederick Nietzsche’s Twilight of the idols, is an explosive critique of the discipline of economics as a religion. John Rapley, according to his Globe and Mail biography is political economist specializing in global development, the world economy and economic history. Rapley born in Canada, completed doctoral studies in Canada and pursued post-doctoral work at Oxford University. This book is the best book I have read on the history of economic thought. Particularly interesting is his description of the evolution of political economy of Smith and Ricardo into the neoclassical canon of Alfred Marshall.
He situates the great debate on free trade within the context of a rising and dominant and the Britannica English corn laws. He ...