DOI
10.3200/JECE.36.2.171-184
Abstract
There is a difference between the private and social cost of preserving the past. Although it may be privately rational to forget the past, the social cost is significant: We fail to see that classical political economy is analytically egalitarian. The past is a rich source of surprises and debates, and resources on the Web are uniquely suited to teaching such wide-ranging debates. Our Secret History of the Dismal Science, at www.econlib.org, provides a series of windows on the literary and analytical texts and the artwork that figured in the debates. Students who read Smith juxtaposed with Whitman, who read the Carlyle-Mill exchange, and who see these images, understand the debate in a way that students who read only the Wealth of Nations, Ricardo's Principles, or John Stuart Mill cannot.
Document Type
Restricted Article: Campus only access
Publication Date
8-7-2010
Publisher Statement
Copyright © Taylor & Francis Ltd.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3200/JECE.36.2.171-184
The definitive version is available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3200/JECE.36.2.171-184
Recommended Citation
Peart, S. J., & Levy, D. M. (2005). Valuing (and Teaching) the Past. The Journal of Economic Education, 36(2), 171–184. https://doi.org/10.3200/JECE.36.2.171-184
