Freedom and Stability in the World Economy: 4 (Routledge Library Editions: Modern World Economy)

Originally published in 1976. This collection of essays addresses the question of whether a free market economy, suitably modified as a social market economy according to the aspirations and requirements of individual societies, could be effectively recreated. In the face of the trends of the time towards collectivism, private ownership under state control, this was a main issue of the world economy in the post-Keynesian time. Previously it was held that some form of intervention by either national or supranational governments was an essential precondition for progress and stability world-wide, but this collection of essays suggests that this very interventionism created a level of instability that required a new set of ground rules. It considers how to plan for free market systems in a rigorous manner and assesses the real world problems of the day.