Behind The Veil Of Economics [Paperback]

Heilbroner L Robert (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 17, 1989

What lies behind the veil of economics? Power and ideology, answers Robert Heilbroner - the power of our economic involvement in society to shape the ways we think about it; the visions and values that add unsuspected ideological colour to our economic beliefs about it. Most important, Heilbroner shows why economics has become the reigning form of social inquiry and how we might penetrate its mystique.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Because we take our economic system as a given, it spreads an ideological veil that shields from our view the true nature of capitalist exploitation and regimentation. This metaphor loosely links these eight scholarly essays from the author of The Worldly Philosophers. Heilbroner argues that the wage-labor relationship serves a political function by disciplining the work force. He probes the contradiction between work as a value-creating activity and a submissive routine. To lift the veil of economics-as-usual, he turns to Adam Smith, who clearly saw the psychological underpinnings of the class system, to Marx's value theory and to Joseph Schumpeter's analysis of the entrepreneurial spirit. This slight collection includes three new essays and five pieces reworked or reprinted from journals and Heilbroner's other books.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Heilbroner does not much admire the current practice of economics. Behind the facade of objective analysis, he finds hidden ideology and obscure vision. He believes that by focusing on surface conditions, such as the working of the price system, economists ignore more fundamental issues. He discusses these issues in introductory and concluding chapters. In between are previously published articles (with one exception) on the history and future of capitalism, work, and value in the capitalist system, and the visions of Adam Smith and Joseph Schumpeter. Heilbroner, among the best writers in economics, skillfully displays his talents. Since a number of the articles were published in rather obscure places, it is worthwhile having them collected. Primarily of interest to economists, the book is recommended for research libraries. William J. Hausman, Coll. of William & Mary, Williamsburg, Va.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton and Company, Inc. (June 17, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393305775
• ISBN-13: 978-0393305777
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 4.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,264,483 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Robert Heilbroner is the Norman Thomas Professor of Economics, Emeritus, at The New School for Social Research. He is the author of over twenty books, among them The Worldly Philosophers. He lives in New York City.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ideology is part of economics, May 31, 2004

By 

Luc REYNAERT (Beernem, Belgium) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Behind The Veil Of Economics (Paperback)

In Robert Heilbroner's short but superb analysis, the key factor in economics is property (wealth). 'Wealth is power, says Smith, quoting Hobbes'.
The subject over which the veil is spread is a specific social order: capitalism.
Economists anthropomorphize property. 'Land, labour and capital' are identified as the 'factors of production', whereby the crucial social difference between labour and property is elided.
Certainly, Adam Smith was not duped: 'Civil government as far as it is instituted for the security of property is in reality instituted for the defence of the rich against the poor.'
R. Heilbroner shrewdly analyses capitalism as an amoral ideology, which is not a sufficient condition for freedom. Therein, he considers work as a fundamental expression of subordination (also to get power or prestige) and as opposite to freedom (the 'activities' in a pre-capitalist society). And he rightly quotes Jevons: 'the value of labour must be determined by the value of the product, not the value of the product by the value of labour.'

But he is far from being a rabid anti-capitalist. On the contrary, he recognizes its huge potential as a wealth creating machine.
What he castigates magisterially is the (un)conscious and untold ideological prejudices behind the 'economic' viewpoints of Milton Friedman, Jude Wanniski, George Gilder and others.
This book is a remarkable reflection by a superb free mind. A must read.