Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction: The plight of the economist -- The second coming of Adam Smith -- Malthus : prophet of doom and population boom -- David Ricardo and the cry for free trade -- The stormy mind of John Stuart Mill -- The angry oracle called Karl Marx -- Alfred Marshall and the marginalist mind -- Old and new institutionalists -- Keynes : bon vivant as savior -- Milton Friedman and the monetarist battle against Keynes -- The Public Choice school : politics as a business -- The wild world of rational expectations and behavioral economics -- Dark clouds, silver linings.

A reexamination of the major economic theories of the past two hundred years discusses how long-dead, famous economists such as Adam Smith and others would handle today's economic problems.