The study of the history of economics must derive its raison détre from the extent to which it encourages a student to become acquainted at first hand with some of the great works of the subject….The importance of reading original sources in a subject such as economics cannot be overemphasized. There is a mutual interaction between past and present economic thinking for, whether we set it down in so many words or not, the history of economic thought is being rewritten every generation. In truth, one should no more study modern price theory without knowing Adam Smith than one should read Adam Smith without having learned modern price theory. Here is a quote from the preface to the first edition of Economic Theory in Retrospect that gives a sense of these views:

I certainly have been influenced by his views that the primary purposes of studying history of economic thought is to teach contemporary economic theory and that students should read original texts. I will draw from parts of Blaug’s Economic Theory in Retrospect, an excellent resource for those interested in the development of economic theory, as Blaug describes it – “undiluted by entertaining historical digressions or biographical coloring”. Next fall I will be designing and teaching a new history of economic thought class for our political economy seniors at King’s College London.

His work was wide ranging, but above all, he was an astute and critical observer of economics. He was a student of George Stigler at Columbia in the 1950s and went on to teach at Yale, UCL, and LSE. Mark Blaug (1927-2011) was an economist best known for his work in history of economic thought and the methodology of economics.

Blaug economic theory in retrospect