Gonzaga Gutiérrez

Eco 4325

Dr. Weston

April 6, 2011

History of Economic Thought Time line

Plato

427-347 B.C. Rejection of private property and institution

of Communal Property: The Republic.

Aristotle

384-322 B.C.

Private Property necessary, conducive to progress.

Justice in exchange: Exchange must be reciprocal

and proportional - equate value of good on the bases

of labor and utility. Condemns usury.

Thomas Aquinas

1225-1274 A.D. Private Property does not go against the natural

law; it is a necessary evil. Common good takes

precedence over the individual.

Frances Bacon

1561-1629 A.D. Inductive reasoning. Emphasis on

the necessity of empirical

knowledge. Purpose of knowledge is

to improve human condition

Thomas Mun

1571-1641 A.D Official of the East India Company, best representative

of early Mercantilism. Wrote: “England’s Treasure by

Foreign Trade”

Hugo Grotius

1583-1645 A.D Alienable Natural Rights. Asserted the sea

was free for all

Gerard de Malylenes

1586-1626 A.D. Medieval thinker concerned with usury. Blames

English recession on the foreign exchange

mechanism. In favor of fixed exchanged rates.

Thomas Hobbes

1588-1679 A.D. Leviathan: Social contract based on the desire to

be protected because the life of man is “solitary,

poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” Natural State is

War against all.

Edward Misselden

1608-1654 A.D. Propagandist. Credited for the first known use of the

term “balance of trade”; regulate imports and

encourage exports.

William Petty

1623-1687 A.D.

Founder of “laissez faire” government. First

attempt at estimating GDP. Development of

Political Arithmetic.

Jean-Baptiste Colbert

1619-1683 A.D. Instituted heavy state controlled economy and

micromanaging. Controller of finance for Louis

XIV.

John Locke

1632-1704

Defends Private Property. Knowledge is

determined by experience through sense perception.

Wrote on price theory and political

philosophy…Human nature characterized by

tolerance and reason

Isaac Newton

1643-1727

Revolutionized the way people thought. The world

can be explained through general principles and

reasoning. Looks for natural order in physical

world.

Bernard Mandeville

1670-1733 A.D. Wrote “Fable of the Bees”, where vicious behavior

by individuals can lead to social benefits. Private

vices lead to public benefits.

John Law

1671-1729 A.D. In charge of Mississippi company, which was

responsible for the first public issuance of money,

which represented gold.

Anthony Ashley Cooper

1671-1713 A.D. The source of morality is a sixth moral sense.

Moral Philosopher

Richard Cantillon

1680-1734 A.D. Writer of “Essai.” Introduces concepts of

entrepreneurship and arbitrage.

James Stewart

1712-1780 A.D.

Great Economic Systematic thinker, who as

opposed to Adam Smith had little impact. Self-

interest is the key to inquiry. Introduces Political

Economy.

Adam Smith

1723-1790 A.D. Wrote Wealth of the Nations and began classical

Economics. Labor is the source of wealth made

more productive through specialization and the

division of labor. Introduces the concept of the

Invisible Hand.

A.M.J. Turgot

1727-1781 A.D. Great Physiocratic thinker and advocate for

Economic Liberalism. Advocates for laissez faire

government in France.