In this unconventionial and sharply written text, Hollander introduces the work of Smith, Ricardo, and Mill, and, on specific Malthus and Marx. He leads the student through the nuances of the arguments, making clear how he agrees with or challenges recieved ideas about their writings. Attention is given to the precursors of the classics, to their immediate successors, and to the Sraffian system.

This book explores the commonly-perceived paradigmatic conflict between the 'Ricardo School' and the contemporary French economics of Jean-Baptiste Say. It will interest all serious historians of economic thought and will find a place on the bookshelves of many economists across the world