The Big Three in Economics cover art

The Big Three in Economics

Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and John Maynard Keynes

 Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends December 16, 2025 11:59pm GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Thousands of incredible audiobooks and podcasts to take wherever you go.
Immerse yourself in a world of storytelling with the Plus Catalogue - unlimited listening to thousands of select audiobooks, podcasts and Audible Originals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Big Three in Economics

By: Mark Skousen
Narrated by: Jeff Riggenbach
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends December 16, 2025 11:59pm GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Only £0.99 a month for the first 3 months. Pay £0.99 for the first 3 months, and £8.99/month thereafter. Renews automatically. Terms apply. Start my membership

About this listen

 The Big Three in Economics reveals the battle of ideas among the three most influential economists in world history: Adam Smith, representing laissez faire; Karl Marx, reflecting the radical socialist model; and John Maynard Keynes, symbolizing big government and the welfare state. History comes alive in this fascinating story of opposing views that continue to play a fundamental role in today's politics and economics.

In the 21st century, Adam Smith's "invisible hand" model has gained the upper hand, and capitalism has ultimately won the ideological battle over socialism and interventionism. But even in the era of globalization and privatization, Keynesian and Marxist ideas continue to play a significant role in economic policy in the public and private sectors.

©2007 Mark Skousen (P)2007 Blackstone Audio Inc. Economic History Economics Professionals & Academics Social Scientists & Psychologists Taxation Capitalism Government Socialism Economic disparity Economic Inequality Liberalism Marxism Soviet Union US Economy Deficit Economic Policy Banking Deflation Tariff Latin American

Listeners also enjoyed...

 The Making of Modern Economics cover art
Mises cover art
The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Great Depression and the New Deal cover art
Economics in One Lesson cover art
Milton Friedman cover art
Fascism Versus Capitalism cover art
The Rothbard Reader cover art
The Wealth of Nations cover art
New Ideas from Dead Economists cover art
Socialism… Seriously cover art
Samuelson Friedman cover art
Austrian Economics and Public Policy cover art
Wealth and Poverty cover art
Capital in the Twenty-First Century cover art
Understanding Power cover art
The Indispensable Milton Friedman cover art

Critic reviews

"Thoughtful, highly readable account that brings economics to life." (R. Glenn Hubbard, Dean, Columbia Business School)
"I love Mark Skousen's book about the history of economists - it is so interesting and well written, and helps us visualize the big picture." (Jeremy J. Siegel, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania)
"A curious, enlightening and creative account of the world's three most influential economists, and why their theories have had such a huge impact on the economic history of the modern world." (Robert J. Shiller, Yale University)
All stars
Most relevant
Narration was good. Great all round introduction to economics. Highly recommend. A great book if you want to understand economic basics and principles or a fantastic starter for further study.

interesting read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I appreciated the detailed history of some of the key economic thinkers over the past 3 centuries. But the author very clearly has a preferred ideological position, and in the orthodox tradition, dresses this ideology up as scientific reality.

Mostly very competent history of economic thought stretching back to Adam Smith but clear ideological bias

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This title includes short biographies of each of the three economists Smith, Marx and Keynes, together with a discussion of the main points of their work and critique of their ideas. It also goes into useful detail about their successors and their historical impact.

Serves as a reasonable introduction to the history of economics for the general reader. There is bias introduced by the author's particular perspective. For example, he devotes a surprising amount of space to a discussion of whether or not Adam Smith was a practicing Christian. The description of Karl Marx is splendidly bitchy: a man described more than once as 'demonic'. He is villified, for example, because his children died in poverty. However, much of the discussion of Marx' work is reasonably unbiased and can be useful. It is obviously a matter of great dismay to the author that John Maynard Keynes described himself as an 'immoralist' and was openly homosexual for part of his life.

A reasonably good read, less impartial than I would have liked, but presents the main economic ideas in an accessible manner.

Acceptable but rather partisan coverage

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
it is performed in the best manner possible. the book itself is good for acquiring general knowledge. it helps to have a somehow clearer understanding of economics in general but there are not too many details .

good for general knowledge

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Anti Keynes bias was painful in the later chapters. Examples were selective. Then I suppose by definition they are.

Informative overall

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews