Robert Heilbroner
Encyclopedia
Robert L. Heilbroner was an American
economist
and historian of economic thought. The author of some twenty books, Heilbroner was best known for The Worldly Philosophers
(1953), a survey of the lives and contributions of famous economists, notably Adam Smith
, Karl Marx
, and John Maynard Keynes
.
family; his father, Louis Heilbroner, had founded the men's clothing retailer, Weber and Heilbroner. Robert graduated from Harvard University
in 1940 with a summa cum laude degree in philosophy, government and economics. During World War II
, he served in the United States Army
and worked at the Office of Price Control under John Kenneth Galbraith
, the highly celebrated and controversial Institutionalist economist.
After the war, Heilbroner worked briefly as a banker and entered into academy in the 1950s as a research fellow at the New School for Social Research. During this period, he was highly influenced by the German economist Adolph Lowe
, who was a foremost representative of the German Historical School. In 1963, Heilbroner earned a Ph.D.
in Economics from the New School for Social Research, where he was subsequently appointed Norman Thomas
Professor of Economics in 1971, and where he remained for more than twenty years. He mainly taught History of Economic Thought courses at the New School.
Although a highly unconventional economist, who regarded himself as more of a social theorist and "worldly philosopher" (philosopher pre-occupied with "worldly" affairs, such as economic structures), and who tended to integrate the disciplines of history, economics and philosophy, Heilbroner was nevertheless recognized by his peers as a prominent economist. He was elected Vice President of the American Economic Association
in 1972.
Written in 1953, Worldly Philosophers has sold nearly four million copies-—the second-best-selling economics text of all time (the first being Paul Samuelson
's Economics
, a highly popular university textbook). The seventh edition of the book, published in 1999, included a new final chapter entitled "The End of Worldly Philosophy?", which included both a grim view on the current state of economics as well as a hopeful vision for a "reborn worldly philosophy" that incorporated social
aspects of capitalism
.
He also came up with a way of classifying economies, as either Traditional (primarily agriculturally-based, perhaps subsistence economy
), Command (centrally planned economy
, often involving the state), Market
(capitalism
), or Mixed
.
Though an outspoken socialist
for nearly his entire career, Heilbroner famously wrote in a 1989 New Yorker
article:
He further explained in Dissent
in 1992 that "capitalism has been as unmistakable a success as socialism has been a failure"http://www.reason.com/news/show/32874.html and complimented Milton Friedman
, Friedrich Hayek
, and Ludwig von Mises
on their insistence of the free market's superiority. He emphasized that "democratic liberties have not yet appeared, except fleetingly, in any nation that has declared itself to be fundamentally anticapitalist." However, Heilbroner's preferred capitalist model was the highly redistributionist welfare state
s of Scandinavia
; he stated that his model society was "a slightly idealized Sweden."
He was a trustee
of Economists for Peace and Security.
While he is known primarily for his books, Heilbroner was also a stellar teacher. He was attentive and generous to generations of New School students and helped many develop a critical understanding of economic ideas. He combined a passion for discussion with a deep-seated sense of humor. When one naive student asked him, "How does one learn to write well?" his reply was from the old joke about how one gets to Carnegie Hall: "practice,practice, practice."
Heilbroner died on January 4, 2005 in New York, NY at the age of 85.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
economist
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
and historian of economic thought. The author of some twenty books, Heilbroner was best known for The Worldly Philosophers
The Worldly Philosophers
The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times and Ideas of the Great Economic Thinkers is a book by Robert L. Heilbroner. The book was written in 1953 and has sold more than four million copies through seven editions...
(1953), a survey of the lives and contributions of famous economists, notably Adam Smith
Adam Smith
Adam Smith was a Scottish social philosopher and a pioneer of political economy. One of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, Smith is the author of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations...
, Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
, and John Maynard Keynes
John Maynard Keynes
John Maynard Keynes, Baron Keynes of Tilton, CB FBA , was a British economist whose ideas have profoundly affected the theory and practice of modern macroeconomics, as well as the economic policies of governments...
.
Biography
Heilbroner was born in New York, to a wealthy German JewishHistory of the Jews in Germany
The presence of Jews in Germany has been established since the early 4th century. The community prospered under Charlemagne, but suffered during the Crusades...
family; his father, Louis Heilbroner, had founded the men's clothing retailer, Weber and Heilbroner. Robert graduated from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1940 with a summa cum laude degree in philosophy, government and economics. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he served in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and worked at the Office of Price Control under John Kenneth Galbraith
John Kenneth Galbraith
John Kenneth "Ken" Galbraith , OC was a Canadian-American economist. He was a Keynesian and an institutionalist, a leading proponent of 20th-century American liberalism...
, the highly celebrated and controversial Institutionalist economist.
After the war, Heilbroner worked briefly as a banker and entered into academy in the 1950s as a research fellow at the New School for Social Research. During this period, he was highly influenced by the German economist Adolph Lowe
Adolph Lowe
Adolph Lowe born Adolf Löwe was a German sociologist and economist.- Major publications of Adolph Lowe :*Arbeitslosigkeit und Kriminalität, 1914....
, who was a foremost representative of the German Historical School. In 1963, Heilbroner earned a Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in Economics from the New School for Social Research, where he was subsequently appointed Norman Thomas
Norman Thomas
Norman Mattoon Thomas was a leading American socialist, pacifist, and six-time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America.-Early years:...
Professor of Economics in 1971, and where he remained for more than twenty years. He mainly taught History of Economic Thought courses at the New School.
Although a highly unconventional economist, who regarded himself as more of a social theorist and "worldly philosopher" (philosopher pre-occupied with "worldly" affairs, such as economic structures), and who tended to integrate the disciplines of history, economics and philosophy, Heilbroner was nevertheless recognized by his peers as a prominent economist. He was elected Vice President of the American Economic Association
American Economic Association
The American Economic Association, or AEA, is a learned society in the field of economics, headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. It publishes one of the most prestigious academic journals in economics: the American Economic Review...
in 1972.
Written in 1953, Worldly Philosophers has sold nearly four million copies-—the second-best-selling economics text of all time (the first being Paul Samuelson
Paul Samuelson
Paul Anthony Samuelson was an American economist, and the first American to win the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. The Swedish Royal Academies stated, when awarding the prize, that he "has done more than any other contemporary economist to raise the level of scientific analysis in...
's Economics
Economics (textbook)
Economics is an influential introductory textbook by American economists Paul Samuelson and William Nordhaus. It was first published in 1948, and has appeared in nineteen different editions, the most recent in 2010. It was the best selling economics textbook for many decades and still remains...
, a highly popular university textbook). The seventh edition of the book, published in 1999, included a new final chapter entitled "The End of Worldly Philosophy?", which included both a grim view on the current state of economics as well as a hopeful vision for a "reborn worldly philosophy" that incorporated social
Social
The term social refers to a characteristic of living organisms...
aspects of capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
.
He also came up with a way of classifying economies, as either Traditional (primarily agriculturally-based, perhaps subsistence economy
Subsistence economy
A subsistence economy is an economy which refers simply to the gathering or amassment of objects of value; the increase in wealth; or the creation of wealth. Capital can be generally defined as assets invested with the expectation that their value will increase, usually because there is the...
), Command (centrally planned economy
Planned economy
A planned economy is an economic system in which decisions regarding production and investment are embodied in a plan formulated by a central authority, usually by a government agency...
, often involving the state), Market
Market economy
A market economy is an economy in which the prices of goods and services are determined in a free price system. This is often contrasted with a state-directed or planned economy. Market economies can range from hypothetically pure laissez-faire variants to an assortment of real-world mixed...
(capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
), or Mixed
Mixed economy
Mixed economy is an economic system in which both the state and private sector direct the economy, reflecting characteristics of both market economies and planned economies. Most mixed economies can be described as market economies with strong regulatory oversight, in addition to having a variety...
.
Though an outspoken socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
for nearly his entire career, Heilbroner famously wrote in a 1989 New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
article:
- Less than 75 years after it officially began, the contest between capitalism and socialism is over: capitalism has won...Capitalism organizes the material affairs of humankind more satisfactorily than socialism.
He further explained in Dissent
Dissent (magazine)
Dissent is a quarterly magazine focusing on politics and culture edited by Michael Walzer and Michael Kazin. The magazine is published for the Foundation for the Study of Independent Social Ideas, Inc by the University of Pennsylvania Press....
in 1992 that "capitalism has been as unmistakable a success as socialism has been a failure"http://www.reason.com/news/show/32874.html and complimented Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman was an American economist, statistician, academic, and author who taught at the University of Chicago for more than three decades...
, Friedrich Hayek
Friedrich Hayek
Friedrich August Hayek CH , born in Austria-Hungary as Friedrich August von Hayek, was an economist and philosopher best known for his defense of classical liberalism and free-market capitalism against socialist and collectivist thought...
, and Ludwig von Mises
Ludwig von Mises
Ludwig Heinrich Edler von Mises was an Austrian economist, philosopher, and classical liberal who had a significant influence on the modern Libertarian movement and the "Austrian School" of economic thought.-Biography:-Early life:...
on their insistence of the free market's superiority. He emphasized that "democratic liberties have not yet appeared, except fleetingly, in any nation that has declared itself to be fundamentally anticapitalist." However, Heilbroner's preferred capitalist model was the highly redistributionist welfare state
Welfare state
A welfare state is a "concept of government in which the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those...
s of Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
; he stated that his model society was "a slightly idealized Sweden."
He was a trustee
Trustee
Trustee is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, can refer to any person who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of another...
of Economists for Peace and Security.
While he is known primarily for his books, Heilbroner was also a stellar teacher. He was attentive and generous to generations of New School students and helped many develop a critical understanding of economic ideas. He combined a passion for discussion with a deep-seated sense of humor. When one naive student asked him, "How does one learn to write well?" his reply was from the old joke about how one gets to Carnegie Hall: "practice,practice, practice."
Heilbroner died on January 4, 2005 in New York, NY at the age of 85.