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[Excerpted from An Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought , vol. 1, Economic Thought Before Adam Smith . An MP3 audio file of this article, read by Jeff Riggenbach, is available for download .]   The status and reputation of Sir Francis Bacon (1561–1626) is one of the great puzzles in the history of social thought. On the one

[Excerpted from An Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought , vol. 1, Economic Thought Before Adam Smith . An audio file of this article, read by Jeff Riggenbach, is available here .] Since Bacon’s thought fitted well into the spirit of the age, it is not surprising that he developed enthusiastic followers. One little-recognized

[Excerpted from An Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought , vol. 1, Economic Thought Before Adam Smith .]   The turmoil of the English Civil War in the 1640s and 1650s generated political and institutional upheaval, and stimulated radical thinking about politics. Since the Civil War was fought over religion and politics, much of

[Excerpted from An Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought , vol. 1, Economic Thought Before Adam Smith . An MP3 audio file of this article, read by Jeff Riggenbach, is available for download .]   One of the most prominent economic writers of the latter half of the 17th century in England was the eminent Sir Josiah Child

[Excerpted from An Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought , vol. 1, Economic Thought Before Adam Smith . An MP3 audio file of this article, read by Jeff Riggenbach, is available for download .]   From the early decades of the 17th century, English mercantilists were bitter at the superior prosperity and economic growth enjoyed by

[Excerpted from An Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought, vol. 1, Economic Thought Before Adam Smith . An MP3 audio file of this article, read by Jeff Riggenbach, is available for download .] Weighing in on the side of John Locke, not only on interest rates but also in a general and comprehensive vision of economic laissez-faire

[Excerpted from an edited transcript of “Ideology and Theories of History,” the first in a series of six lectures on the history of economic thought, given in 1986.]   The Whig theory of history began in the early to mid-19th century, and it has taken over: it’s still with us. It’s still dominant despite criticisms in the 1930s and ‘40s.

Excerpted from an edited transcript of “Ideology and Theories of History,” the first in a series of six lectures, given in 1986, on the history of economic thought. The Whig theory of the history of science is very similar, of course, to the Whig theory of the history itself . The Whig theory of history of science was dominant until the 1960s. (It

[Excerpted from What Has Government Done to Our Money? ]   To understand the current monetary chaos, it is necessary to trace briefly the international monetary developments of the 20th century, and to see how each set of unsound inflationist interventions has collapsed of its own inherent problems, only to set the stage for another round of

[Excerpted from an edited transcript of “Ideology and Theories of History,” another in a series of six lectures, given in 1986, on the history of economic thought.]   The basic methodological or philosophical approach to the history of thought that I favor is Skinnerism. I don’t mean the evil B.F. Skinner, the behaviorist. I mean Quentin Skinner .