A History of Economic Thought

This is an important and unparalleled work which situated Marx's economic theory in relation to the economic theories that pre-date him - from mercantilism to John Stuart Mill. First published in 1929, the book dates from the fertile period of Marxist economic theory that produced the works of Preobrazhensky, Kondratiev and Bukharin. However as a review of pre-Marxist economics it stands out from the many books which dwell only on the contemporary industrialisation debates. This is a selective reading of economic thought, offering analysis of those elements in past economics that accord with the areas of interest to Marxism. Each section gives a brief analysis of a specific school of thought, with particular attention to the social and ideological climate within which it evolved. The book differs from orthodox accounts in not merely mentioning historical background but using it as a central explanation of the evolution of economic theories.
Isaac Ilych Rubin was born in Russia in 1886. He was an active participant in the Revolution and afterwards became a professor of marxist economics and a research assistant at the Marx-Engels Institute. He was arrested in 1930, apparently for having a close association with David Riazanov whom Stalin disliked. He was subsequently 'removed from among the living'.