UNDERSTANDING of the economic successes and failures of the past century and today begins here. Dan Blatt, after almost a half-century of accurate published economic forecasts, examines history's most important economic works. He shows why capitalist market mechanisms successfully raise billions out of poverty and why socialist and other administered alternatives flourish briefly and then collapse. UNDERSTANDING begins with the basic texts: An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, by Adam Smith; The Principles of Political Economy and Taxation, by David Ricardo; Capital (Das Kapital), by Karl Marx; The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, by John Maynard Keynes; Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy by Joseph A. Schumpeter. The analysis is readily comprehensible for college level readers and busy professionals. The style facilitates speed-reading and scanning but with liberal inclusion of quoted material covering the key ideas and most famous passages. Understanding the Economic Basics and Modern Capitalism is your source for rapid familiarity with these basic works and the reasons for the repetitive failure of current economic policies.