Journal of Economic Literature
Book Reviews
2026-08-28
Douglas Irwin of Dartmouth College reviews “Reviving the Invisible Hand: The Case for Classical Liberalism in the Twenty-First Century” by Deepak Lal,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Explores the drawbacks of the New Dirigisme, and questions the route the current imperial power--the United States--has taken in not wholeheartedly supporting the twin principles of laissez faire and unilateral free trade. Discusses liberal international economic orders; the move from laissez faire to the Dirigiste Dogma; the changing fortunes of free trade; money and finance; poverty and inequality; morality and capitalism; “capitalism with a human face,” and the Greens and global disorder. Lal is James S. Coleman Professor of International Development Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Professor Emeritus of Political Economy at University College London. Bibliography; index.”