Robert Heilbroner The Worldly Philosophers Summary

In Robert L. Heilbroner’s book The Worldly Philosophers he explains part of the history of economics and its evolution over time. In the book he speaks of several paradigm shifts that have occurred over time. He also talks about the types of economies and the nature of man. Heilbronner takes us from a place where “ a system organized on the basis of personal gain has not yet taken root”(1) to the current state of our economy. In his book, Heilbroner explains several paradigm shifts as well as different types of economies. Heilbroner asserts that “Man… seems to be stubbornly endowed with a fiercely self-centered nature.” (2) Due to this the world is in a sort of ordered chaos. People look out for their own good and their own needs in order

Man “ensured his continuity by… handing down the varied and necessary tasks from generation to generation.”(3) This meant a time where people were bound to follow in the footsteps of their father, even facing the risk of being disowned if they were to leave their families’ chosen path. Next came authoritarian rule which used “the edict of one authority and… the penalties that [the] supreme authority sees fit to issue.”(4)This was a way for certain societies, such as the Soviet Union or ancient Egypt to guarantee the survival of their economies for a short while until they were mostly overtaken by the third types of economy. Finally there is what is used today called the market system. The market system is based on a “central guiding rule… [that] each should do what was to his best monetary advantage.”(5) The market system was the first real iteration that upheld Heilbroner’s theory of man being self-centered. People are mostly free to do as they wish in regards to their career and how they make money with only a few rules as to how they are to do so. Now man carries on in an understandably self-centered way, looking out for his own good above all else. The different types of economies came about through several paradigm

Once currency and tracking it became somewhat unified people began to stray away from some of the ideals of the church, which held that profit was evil and a sin. This straying from the church or “religious fragmentation” was the next paradigm shift to come into place. People’s view of money was entirely changed in a way that began to support markets and merchants. A direct result of the second change was a third paradigm shift in which money began to move away from the church and back into the hands of individuals and merchants who were seen as experts in their fields. This was a major shift for people everywhere and even though, “Nobody wanted this commercialization of life”(6)the wheels of capitalism continued rolling into the fourth paradigm shift: technology. Technology brought the world not only new things but new problems. People were unsure of how to deal with new innovations and unregulated items. New technologies were viewed for a long time as bad until the final shift came along. Inventing, the final paradigm shift spoken about in Heilbroner’s book, brought for the first time a sense of ease to the communities who had recently been bewildered and confused by the new technology. As Heilbroner puts it, “The idea of invention itself took hold; experimentation and innovation were looked on for the first time with a friendly eye.”(7) This brings us to modern day where not only