Reviving the Invisible Hand: The Case for Classical Liberalism in the Twenty-first Century
One ofChoice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2006"Deepak Lal has provided us with a stirring, even vehement, argument for the restoration of classical liberalism."--Tim Worstall,Daily Telegraph"If Deepak Lal did not exist, I have no doubt it would be necessary to invent him. A highly accomplished technical economist with an excellent reputation, Lal is also the most formidable and forthright champion of classical liberal economic thinking."--David Smith,World Business"Deepak Lal's book reviews modern development economics from a free market perspective. . . . Mr. Lal demonstrates that in spite of the defeat of communism, many Western special interests still introduce rheumatism into the invisible hand of the free market."--Martin Hutchinson,Washington Times"Deepak Lal gives us a fiery refresher course not just in the virtues of the free market, but on the classical liberal outlook on life."--George Walden,Sunday Telegraph"Lal covers an immense amount of ground, from the theory of international trade to the differences between Michael Oakeshotts conservative opposition to the enterprise state and that of the classical liberal Friedrich Hayek."--Samuel Brittan,Financial Times"Deepak Lal effectively points out that just about every goal held dear by those who call themselves radicals and progressives is best reached by exactly the opposite policy prescriptions that they put forward. Indeed, we can go further and point out that the best methods of reaching those goals are in fact the truly liberal ones, those laid out all those decades ago by Adam Smith, David Hume and David Ricardo. . . . [T]his book can and should be a rallying point for those of us who are indeed liberal, radical and progressive."--Tim Worstall,Technology Commerce Society Daily"This book gives a coherent and lucid account of classical liberal theory and argues a case for reviving the invisible hand. Lal's stands on 'trickle down' effect, relevance of the IMF, World Bank and the WTO, genetically modified food and government interventions to achieve equity are contentious. I hope this book generates informed public debates on these issues."--U. Sankar,The Hindu"An erudite and spirited defense of the only approach to public policy that has brought mankind sustained economic growth, widespread alleviation of poverty, and embedded respect for the worth and dignity of the individual."--Economic Affairs"A wide ranging and spirited defense of classical liberalism as an organizing principle for the economic affairs of the world.... Provides a nice blend of personal anecdote, literature review, economic argumentation, and broad empirical evidence."--Douglas Irwin,Journal of Economic Literature"Deepak Lal'sReviving the Invisible Hand, an uncompromising and insightful defense of the classical-liberal case for laissez-faire capitalism and free trade that should be on every liberal's shelf. It begins with a brief history of capitalism, explains its fundamental principles, examines the threats it faces, and proposes ways in which the threats may be met intellectually and politically. Capitalism's great enemy, socialism, is thought by many to be dead, but as Lal shows, dirigisme is alive and well. The book is crammed with facts, broad-brush accounts, nuanced technical arguments, brutal critiques, and bold prophecies. Themes are interwoven and repeated. The author apparently aimed to stamp out every misconception about capitalism . . . in a single book. This . . . offers the reader an encyclopedic amount of material within a medium size volume."--Suri Ratnapala,Independent Institute"This is a thoughtful, well-researched and challenging book. It has a deep historical perspective and offers a broad coverage of the continuing battles between regulation and deregulation, free and managed trade, and between liberty and equality."--Adrian Davies,Long-Range Planning"[E]ntertaining to read. . . . Anyone seeking relief from the smarmier-thall-thou politics of our day will find this an agreeably provocative book."--George Walden,Seven