Written by a maverick in the world of alternative economics, this book is a critical history of the relationship between economic thought and capitalism from 1750 to the present. The book examines th dynamic interaction of two processes: the historical realities of capitalism and the evolution of economic theory. As Dowd demonstrates, the study of economics celebrates capitalism in ways which make it necessary to classify economic science as pure ideology. A thoroughly modern history, this book shows how economics has become ideology. A radical critic of capitalism, Dowd surveys its detrimental impact across the globe and throughout history. The book includes biographical sketches and brief analyses of the major proponents and critics of capitalism throughout history, including Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, Karl Marx, Thorstein Veblen, Rosa Luxemburg, John Maynard Keynes, Paul Samuelson, Milton Friedman, Eric Hobsbawm.