ANOTHER GIANT PASSES. King at SCSU Scholars notes the passing of Robert Heilbroner.

He wrote The Worldly Philosophers, which during my generation in undergraduate economics programs was fairly required of all econ majors. As I've mentioned, through most of my undergraduate program I waffled between business/economics and philosophy as majors, ending up with a minor in the latter. I have to say I liked Heilbroner's book, even though it was far too praising of command and control economic policies. It was an exposure to how much economics touched political philosophy and vice versa., which during my generation in undergraduate economics programs was fairly required of all econ majors. As I've mentioned, through most of my undergraduate program I waffled between business/economics and philosophy as majors, ending up with a minor in the latter. I have to say I liked Heilbroner's book, even though it was far too praising of command and control economic policies. It was an exposure to how much economics touched political philosophy and vice versa.

I'm a bit older than King, and my first exposure to economics was three weeks of history of thought at the beginning of an introductory macroeconomics course required of all business majors. Lucky me. I learned only later that my course was one of the last to be structured that way: most begin with production possibilities or income-expenditure and no context on Why This Matters.

Professor Heilbroner was in touch with the Zeitgeist in Worldly Philosophers. Guest lecturers at Wisconsin in those days addressed such topics as fine-tuning the economy.