The ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed the world is ruled by little else. Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influences, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist. Madmen in authority, who hear voices in the air, are distilling their frenzy from some academic scribbler of a few years back. I am sure that the power of vested interests is vastly exaggerated compared with the gradual encroachment of ideas. Not, indeed, immediately, but after a certain interval; for in the field of economic and political philosophy there are not many who are influenced by new theories after they are twenty-five or thirty years of age, so that the ideas which civil servants and politicians and even agitators apply to current events are not likely to be the newest. But, soon or late, it is ideas, not vested interests, which are dangerous for good or evil.
TESTING THAT CHANGES TO MASTER WORK. Economics is, at present, one of the most important and influential academic disciplines. Government policies are frequently shaped by academic economics, and economic phenomena have a crucial influence on everyday life. Despite this, importance, economics is a relatively young discipline, and a lot of important ideas in the subject have developed recently. This website traces the development of some key ideas and principles in economic thought over the past three centuries, and provides information about the key economists whose research advanced the field.
It is suggested that you read through the economic ideas pages first. Hovering over the name of a highlighted economist in these pages will open a tooltip with some key biographical details about the economist, and a picture of them (try hovering over John Maynard Keynes' name, under the quote above, on this page). These biographies and pictures are reproduced on the biographies page in approximate chronological order.
History of Economics