IPA Events
How the Dismal Science Got Its Name
8th June, 2010
05:30pm - 6:30pm
Location: IPA, Level 2, 410 Collins Street, Melbourne
It is widely asserted that the Victorian sages attacked classical economics from a humanistic or egalitarian perspective, calling it "the dismal science," and that their attack is relevant to modern discussions of market society. David M. Levy here demonstrates that these assertions are simply false: political economy became "dismal" because Carlyle, Ruskin, and Dickens were horrified at the idea that systems of slavery were being replaced by systems in which individuals were allowed to choose their own paths in life.
Speakers
Louise Staley is Director, Food and Environment Unit at the Institute of Public Affairs.
Contact
Andy Poon
Telephone (03) 9600 4744
Email apoon@ipa.org.au
Website libertysessions.ipa.org.au