The Philosophy of Economics

Author: Galal Amin

This book was written by its author for both specialized and non-specialized readers in economics. He hopes it will be beneficial to both types of readers. It serves as an introduction to economics for those who have not studied this science before, and also as an introduction to a critique of economics, highlighting important weaknesses in this field. By weaknesses, the author refers to the biases and prejudices that underpin economics, across its various topics, reflecting class or national interests, or a specific cultural or intellectual climate that is not necessarily binding for people of other cultures than those in which economics originated and flourished. The book explains the unscientific foundations upon which various topics of economics are based: production, consumption, prices, population, ownership, and income distribution in both capitalist and socialist thought, the theory of national product and employment, economic development, international trade, and cost-benefit analysis. It uncovers the hidden philosophy behind certain discussions that are not, in reality, neutral, objective, and disinterested stances, as many students of economics believe, but rather positions shaped by a particular view of economic and social relations, or a specific philosophy of life that proponents of a different view or philosophy are not compelled to adopt.