Adam’s Fallacy: A Guide to Economic Theology

Adam Smith that is, the author of this new book is Duncan Foley, and the fallacy is the idea of the invisible hand of the marketplace turning greed into the public good.  Imagine a neo-Marxist introduction to the classical economists, written at a popular level, with plenty of Marx plus bits of commentary on Hayek and Veblen.  Overall the book puzzled me; it hovers on the verge of making definite claims but draws back each time.  I’d rather have a good slugfest with clearly staked out positions.  This is an attempt to be the next Robert Heilbroner.  It is not my cup of tea, but some of you will want to buy it here.  Here is my earlier post on what remains valid from the economics of Karl Marx.