The Freeman 1972 - The Ludwig von Mises Institute

1972 OTHER BOOKS 759cord with the moral principles ofour American tradition. It wasreprehensible to order the railroadsto increase their costs (byshortening the working day) withoutpermitting commensurate rateincreases by grant of the InterstateCommerce Commission. IfWilson could order the railroadmen, he could instruct the Commission.He didn't choose to giveequal treatment.In the winter following Wilson's"salon," the nation paid dearly forthe maltreatment of its railroads.The incredible congestion at theports, the car shortages, the shortagesof necessities, the skyrocketingprices, the approach to civilrights were among the end resultsof following policies which did notallow the railroads to operate in afree market.~ THE GROWTH OF ECONOMICTHOUGHT by Henry W. Spiegel(Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey:Prentice-Hall, 1971), 816 pp.,$12.95.~ THE EVOLUTION OF ECO­NOMIC THOUGHT by W. E.Kuhn (2nd ed.; Cincinnati:Southwestern, 1970), 500 pp.,$10.20.Reviewed by Gary NorthTHERE ARE a lot of textbooks tracingthe development of economicthought. Too many of them, infact. Sometimes one of these canbecome a true classic, such asJoseph Schumpeter's History ofEconomic Analysis, but most ofthem gather dust on the shelves,for good reason. They are essentiallyreference books and torturesinflicted on undergraduate students.The two books under review are,from the point of view of the freemarket position, quite serviceable.Spiegel's is more clearly a referencebook, going from school ofthought to school of thought,. scholar by scholar. His is a summary,a descriptive work, withvery little critical analysis. But hegives a fair presentation of theadvent of marginalism and thecontributions of the AustrianSchool. The book contains a superbannotated bibliography, 130 pageslong. It is a kind of miniature encyclopedia,and for quick referencefor refresher purposes, Spiegel'sis an ideal guide.Kuhn's book is more technicaland analytical. In contrast to Spiegel'sbrief sketches of the contributionsof many economists,Kuhn has focused on key membersof various schools of thought, thusenabling him to present more completedescriptions of their contributions.The first half of thebook is arranged in terms of thevarious economic schools: "FromMenger to Bohm-Bawerk," "From