21st Century Capitalism

21st Century Capitalism

21st Century Capitalism. By Robert Heilbroner. (New York: Norton, 1993. 175pp., $17.95)

The Work of Nations: Preparing Ourselves for 21st Century Capitalism. By Robert Reich. (New York: Vintage, 1992. 339pp., $14.00)

Undoubtedly, the 20th century has witnessed some of the most significant economic events in modern history. For example, the Great Depression saw capitalism come close to its end, and the principles of laissez-faire repudiated as the New Deal was enacted to rehabilitate the economy. More recently, the downfall of the Soviet Union represented a major victory for capitalism over the now-defunct communist system, which is nearing extinction even in the land of Mao, as China reluctantly and gradually moves towards a free market economy.

Despite the fall of communism, one should not be too quick to celebrate. Alas, the future of capitalism remains undetermined. Several notable economists have issued predictions for the role of capitalism in the upcoming years. I choose to focus on two: Robert Heilbroner and Robert Reich.

Robert Heilbroner, the Harvard-educated economist and New School professor most noted for The Worldly Philosophers, details his predictions for the future of capitalism in 21st Century Capitalism. Heilbroner is reluctant to draw any great conclusions about capitalism’s future and instead leads a rather deceptive course, first analyzing capitalism “from a distance”.

Heilbroner’s first task is to study the primitive !Kung people of Africa’s Kalahari Desert in a brilliantly effective and easy-to-understand strategy intended to differentiate between the three forces of Command, Tradition, and the Market. Describing Tradition, he writes “From their infancy, Kun...

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...xpecting striking revelations about capitalism’s future. Perhaps the disparity is due to the fact that Heilbroner is a brilliant economist, equal to the likes of Keynes, Schumpeter, and Galbraith, while Reich is a politician-as-academic. Another point worth noting is the likely audiences of both books. Heilbroner, whose works are read in college economics courses across the nation, likely intended his book for serious economists. On the contrary, Reich’s book with its colorful cover is likely intended for the general audience.

In conclusion, Heilbroner’s long list of scholarly achievements will now grow by one. 21st Century Capitalism is a brilliantly written work with expert analysis and a masterful study of the future of economics. However, Reich's work is somewhat less impressive, and his analysis is, to a certain extent, less in-depth than that of Heilbroner.