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Annabelle Lunt
Mr. Francis OGrady
Economics: XI
18 November 2014
Author: Robert L. Heilbroner
Title: The Worldly Philosophers

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Place of Publication: New York, NY
Date of Publication: 1953
Number of Pages: 330

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As stated by Robert Heilbroner The cure for capitalisms failing would require that a
government would have to rise above the interest of one class alone (Robert Heilbroner
Quotes). Robert Heilbroner, the author of The Worldly Philosophers, was born on March 24,
1919 and died on January 4, 2005. Heilbroner was a renowned historian of economic thought who
wrote a survey of the lives and contributions of famous economists. These economists included
Adam Smith, Karl Marx, John Stuart Mill, John Maynard Keynes, Joseph Schumpeter, Thomas
Robert Malthus, Henry George, and David Ricardo. These eight economists contributed extremely
important knowledge about government, politics, economy, and society. [The Worldly
Philosophers] covers the theorists whose words and thoughts concerning the creation and
distribution of wealth have had a major impact on society (The Worldly Philosophers). These
men have influenced and shaped the world due to human drive for worldly wealth.(The Worldly
Philosophers).
Robert L. Heilbroner was born in New York, New York to a wealthy German Jewish
family. Heilbroners father was Louis Heilbroner, the founder of the mens clothing retailer
Weber and Heilbroner. Heilbroner had two sons, David and Peter Heilbroner, and four
grandchildren, Quentin, Katrina, Henry, and Sam. Heilbroner graduated from Harvard University
in 1940 with a summa cum laude degree in philosophy, government, and economics. Heilbroner
began his professional career as a banker and entered into academia in the 1950s as a research
fellow at the New School for Social Research. Heilbroner continued his education, earning a Ph.D.
in Economics from the New School for Social Research, where he was later appointed Professor
of Economics in 1971. He taught the History of Economic Thought for twenty years at the New
School for Social Research. One year later his unconventional economic thought was recognized
by the American Economic Association where he was elected the Vice President in 1972.
Heilbroner died on January 4, 2005 in New York, NY at the age of 85. (Noble).

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The Worldly Philosophers has sold nearly four million copies, making it the second-bestselling economics text of all time. The new, seventh edition, includes a new final chapter called
The End of World Philosophy? which incorporates both a scary view on the current state of
economics as well as a hopeful vision for a reborn worldly philosophy that incorporated social
aspects of capitalism (Heilbroner). This book details Heilbroners method of classifying
economies. Heilbroner created four distinct types of economies: traditional, command, market,
and mixed. A traditional economy is primarily agriculturally based, or a subsistence economy. A
command economy, unlike a traditional economy, is centrally planned, often involving the state.
Lastly a market economy is an economic and political system in which a countrys trade and
industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state. This can also be called
capitalism. Heilbroner believed that capitalism has been as unmistakable as socialism has been a
failure (Heilbroner). Heilbroner emphasized that democratic liberties have not yet appeared,
except fleetingly, in any nation that has declared itself to be fundamentally anti-capitalist
(Heilbroner).
The worldly philosophers described in Heilbroners book are all different in their unique
ways which helped to contribute to their extremely powerful ideas. Adam Smith was born on June
5, 1723 and died July 17, 1790. He was Scottish moral philosopher and a pioneer of political
economy (Adam Smith). Thomas R. Malthus was born on February 12, 1776 and died
December 23, 1834. He was an English cleric and scholar, who was influential in the fields of
political economy and demography (Thomas Robert Malthus). David Ricardo was born on
April 18, 1772 and died September 11, 1823. He was a British political economist and was one of
the most influential of the classic economists (David Ricardo). Karl Marx was born on May 5,
1818 and died March 14 1883. He was a German philosopher, economist, social scientist,
sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. Marxs work in economics laid the

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basis for much of the current understanding of labor and its relation to capital, and subsequent
economics thought (Karl Marx). John Maynard Keynes was born on June 5, 1883 and died on
April 21, 1946. He was a British economist whose ideas have fundamentally affected the theory
and practice of modern macroeconomics and informed the economic policies of governments.
(John Maynard Keynes). Henry George was born on September 2, 1839 and died October 29,
1897. He was an American writer politician and political economist, who was the most influential
proponent of the land value tax and the value capture of land/natural resource rents, which was an
idea known at the time as Single-Tax. (Henry George). John Stuart Mill was born on May 20,
1806 and died May 8, 1873. He was a British philosopher, political economist and civil servant.
He was an influential contributor to social theory, political theory, and political economy. (John
Stuart Mill). He has been called the most influential English-speaking philosopher of the
nineteenth century (John Stuart Mill). Joseph Schumpeter was born on February 8, 1883 and
died January 8, 1950. He was an Austrian economist and political scientist who became one of the
most influential economists of the 20th century. (Joseph Schumpeter).
The most important idea of the book was the inexorable system of Karl Marx which is
commonly referred to as Marxism. Marx found his strong ambition by teaching his beliefs in
constitutional government and atheism. Marx, the author of The Communist Manifesto, wrote
about a class struggle for survival which determined everything else in human affairs. The history
of humanity was primarily the story of one class mistreatment of another which Marx desired to
change. Marx determined the way to change this was a revolt of the overwhelming majority of
workers who would overthrow the ruling capitalists and establish a dictatorship of the workers;
causing a classless society. Marx believed strongly that the laborer who contracts to work can
only ask for a wage that is his due (Heilbroner 157). According to Marx if it takes six hours of
societys labor per day to maintain a working man, then (if labor is priced at one dollar an hour),

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he is worth six dollars a day. No more (Heilbroner 157). This is the most important idea Marx
stated in the book because of its strong implement that money should not be of such a value that it
determines each individuals class. Marx believed in a classless society, which is expected to occur
when true communism is achieved. In Marxism, the primary function of the state is to repress the
lower classes of society in the interests of the ruling class. After the class struggle has resulted in
the victory of the proletariat and the establishment of a socialist society, there will be no further
need for such a repressive institution; with the disappearance of classes, the state is expected to
wither away (Classless Society). The famous idea of a classless society was very shocking
due to the extreme importance of class in todays society. The insight Marx gave about his idea of
a classless society really helps one understand exactly how a classless society would function, and
the each persons individual roles in this new society.
As stated by Adam Smith [labor] was the first price, the original purchase money that
was paid for all things. It was not by gold or by silver, but by [labor], that all wealth of the world
was originally purchased(Adam Smith). Adam Smith created four basic laws of economics
which are a description of the behavior that gives society its cohesiveness. The first law was
created because self-interest acted as a driving power to guide men to whatever work society was
willing to pay for. The desire for wealth invaded all human activity; self-interest motivated people
to perform necessary tasks for which society was willing to pay. Smith stated it is not from the
benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner [...] but from their
regard to their self-interest (Heilbroner 55). The second law is competition because one who
overcharged for products soon learned that competitors will take away business by offering more
reasonable prices. If wages are too small, workers will hire out to another employer who will pay
more for their services. Thus, selfish motives are tempered by interaction, resulting in social
harmony (Heilbroner 56). One who was motivated by self-interest selected a particular task in

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which to do as their occupation, which allowed the society to have all of its necessary tasks filled.
The idea of supply and demand played an important role in the selecting of an occupation, as one
had to insure their chosen occupation would be in high demand; resulting in a higher wage. The
third law or law of accumulation refers to the accumulation of profits, which are put back into
production. Through accumulating profits, capitalists were able to purchase additional machinery
which will stimulate further diction and specialization of labor, thereby boosting productivity;
however, additional machinery means more workers required to work them. Eventually this
caused an increased demand for workers which lead to higher and higher wages until profits
vanished, which caused further accumulations to be impossible. The final law, a solution to the
law of accumulation, is the law of population. Labor is subject to demand so as wages for workers
increased, the numbers of working class will increase. Due to this the working classes size caused
the wages to do go down. Lower wages resulted in profits for the capitalist causing accumulation
to increase.
The Worldly Philosophers is a book that helps to explain the importance of the eight
worldly philosophers: Adam Smith, Karl Marx, John Stuart Mill, John Maynard Keynes, Joseph
Schumpeter, Thomas Robert Malthus, Henry George, and David Ricardo. Each of these
philosophers impacted the government, politics, economy, and society that one knows today.
Robert L. Heilbroner successfully portrayed the extremely important ideas of these philosophers
and explained them in a manner one can easily understand. The history of economics was greatly
understood through this book, and ideas that seemed unrealistic were explained thoughtfully and
thoroughly. As Leonard Silk stated Robert Heilbroners The Worldly Philosophers is a living
classic, both because he makes us see that the ideas of the great economists remain fresh and
important for our times and because his own brilliant writing forces us to reach out into the future
(Robert Heilbroner Quotes).

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Works Cited
Adam Smith. Brainy Quote. Xplore Inc, 2014. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/adam_smith.html>.
Adam Smith. Library of Economics and Liberty. Liberty Fund, Inc., 2008. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Smith.html>.
Classless Society. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, LLC., 2014. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
<http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/classless%20society?s=t>.
David Ricardo. Library of Economics and Liberty. Liberty Fund, Inc., 2008. Web. 17 Nov.
2014. <http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Ricardo.html>.
Heilbroner, Robert. Socialism:. Library of Economics and Liberty. Liberty Fund, Inc., 2008.
Web. 17 Nov. 2014. <http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Socialism.html>.
Heilbroner, Robert L. The Worldly Philosophers. 7th ed. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1953.
Print.
Henry George. Library of Economics and Liberty. Liberty Fund, Inc., 2008. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/George.html>.
Joesph Alois Schumpeter. Library of Economics and Liberty. Liberty Fund, Inc., 2008. Web. 17
Nov. 2014. <http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Schumpeter.html>.
John Maynard Keynes. Library of Economics and Liberty. Liberty Fund, Inc., 2008. Web. 17
Nov. 2014. <http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Keynes.html>.
John Stuart Mill. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Metaphysics Research Lab, 10 July
2007. Web. 17 Nov. 2014. <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/mill/>.
Karl Marx. Library of Liberty and Economics. Liberty Fund, Inc., 2008. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Marx.html>.

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Noble, Holcomb B. Robert Heilbroner, Writer and Economist, Dies at 85. The New York Times.
The New York Times Company, 12 Jan. 2005. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/12/obituaries/12heilbroner.html?_r=0>.
Robert Heilbroner Quotes. iz Quotes. iz quotes, 2014. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
<http://izquotes.com/author/robert-heilbroner>.
Thomas Robert Malthus. Library of Economics and Liberty. Liberty Fund,Inc., 2008. Web. 17
Nov. 2014. <http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Malthus.html>.
The Worldly Philosophers. CliffsNotes. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
<http://izquotes.com/author/robert-heilbroner>.