I got a wonderful book to read- “Grand Pursuit- The Story of Economic Genius” by Sylvia Nasar. She is also the author of “A Beautiful Mind”.

This book is a masterpiece; I would say “A history of economics and economists”. It strings the beads of various economists, economic theories, rendezvous of the economists with Governments and Universities, chiefly in Europe and America during the times of World War –I and World War-II with an exclusive chapter devoted to Amartya Sen who was awarded the 1998 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions to welfare economics and social choice theory and for his interest in the problems of society's poorest members. 

The author intelligently scoops out the economic status of various strata of people in the society as depicted in the books of their times by Charles Dickens, Jane Austin, Henry Mayhew and others. She provides a good insight into the dynamics of economic theories developed by various economic proponents viz. Alfred Marshall, John Maynard Keynes, Karl Marx, Sidney and Beatrice Webb, Friedrich Hayek, Irving Fisher, Joseph Schumpeter, Joan Robinson, Amartya Sen et al.

An important find from the book: The best friend of a factory owner and the author of some of the most impassioned descriptions of mechanization’s horrors, Marx never visited a single English factory—or any factory at all until he went on a guided tour of a porcelain manufactory near Carlsbad, where he took the waters toward the end of his life.

The horseman serves the horse,

The neat-herd serves the neat,

The merchant serves the purse,

The eater serves his meat;

’Tis the day of the chattel,

Web to weave, and corn to grind;

Things are in the saddle,

And ride mankind.

—Ralph Waldo Emerson,

from “Ode, Inscribed to William H. Channing”

My take –

• None of the theories can singularly be applied for governing a large, populated, and a complex country, where there is a mix of poor, middle class and rich people living their complex lives.

• Economics of one country influences and is influenced by economics of other countries.

• There are Democratic Governments in most countries and few Totalitarian Governments too - Economics could be drastically different, deceptive and invisible at times.

• There are periods of depressions and boom - some predictable and some unexpected. It is also about the resources available in the country and their effective and efficient utilization.

• Different Governments have their favourite economists and hence economic ideas.

• Myopic views of economists by staying in their own bubble may have implications.

• Economics is about freedom of countries. Strong & prosperous economies can counter external threats. (After World War II, the economics even dictated imperialist countries to free their colonies).

• I still perceive that Mixed Economy in a Democracy is always a good idea, as it neither adopts complete laissez faire system nor controls (dirigisme doctrine) all aspects of economy. It is “A middle path for Economy” probably like middle path prescribed in Spirituality by “Budha.

No one can satiate the greed (of few),

it's more important to fulfill the need (of vast majority)

                                           --Sudhir Birla

The book is a worthwhile read