The Economists' Hour

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An original history of ideas, and an unforgettable portrait of power, Binyamin Appelbaum's The Economists' Hour tells the story of the people who sparked four decades of economic revolution. Before the 1960s, professional economists played little role in politics. As Appelbaum shows in this masterful work of history, when the post-World War II boom began to sputter, economists rose in influence and power. Over the past half century, they have moved to centre stage, running the US Federal Reserve and the Treasury, overseeing federal regulation, advising presidents to cut taxes and to restrain government spending. From the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s, the number of economists on the federal payroll roughly tripled. Their fundamental belief? That government should stop trying to manage the economy. Their guiding principle? That unfettered markets are the only way to deliver steady growth, and to ensure that the benefits are shared by all. The result? Those economists, and their ideas, have reshaped the modern world, curbing government, unleashing corporations, and clearing the way for globalization. But 'the Economists' Hour' failed to deliver prosperity - and the relentless focus on efficiency threatens the future of liberal democracy.