Michael Shermer, author of nine previous books is an adjunct professor of economics at Claremont Graduate Univ., a Scientific American columnist, the publisher of Skeptic magazine, and the founder and director of the International Skeptics Society. (For his books I've read, click on his name.)

Shermer stands firmly “against the theory of Homo Economius, which holds that ‘Economic Man’ has unbounded rationality, self-interest, and free will, and that we are selfish, self-maximizing, and efficient in our decisions and choices. When evolutionary thinking and modern psychological theories and techniques are applied to the study of human behavior in the marketplace, we find that the theory of Homo Economicus – which had been the bedrock of traditional economics – is often wrong or woefully lacking in explanatory power. It turns out that we are remarkably irrational creatures, driven as much (if not more) by deep and unconscious emotions that evolved over the eons as we are by logic and conscious reason developed in the modern world.”

In making his case (very well made and very well documented), rich transdisciplinary hybrids that “breathe new life into an old science, such as evolutionary economics, complexity economics, behavioral economics, neuroeconomics and what I call virtue economics” are all discussed. He synthesizes these into an evolutionary economics. Adam Smith (whose Wealth of Nations “founded” economics) was foremost a moral philosopher whose (virtue) economics had too much rationality, but who valued consumers and workers above producers. as Shermer carefully points out. Michael Shermer has a fairly low opinion of most stock brokers – he sees too much herd-following in the stock markets and too little careful thinking among most of them.

In making “the leap from ancient hunter-gatherers to modern consumers and traders” he explains how the capitalist marketplace thrives as a “Darwinian organism” that has evolved through natural selection (including key social components) as the fittest way to satisfy our needs. His discussions are packed with astonishing findings and surprising insights from cutting-edge laboratories that study “how we really think about money.” These include the value of virtue, trust, fairness, good rules (such as the importance of “Don’t be evil”), and the freedom to choose (democracy).

His Epilogue: To Open the World is a summary with a vital “law” – “Bastiat’s Principle: Where goods do not cross frontiers, armies will.” And he states crucial inferences: “Conclusion: Power kills; democracy saves. Solution: Spread democracy.” “Conclusion: Trade leads to peace and prosperity. Solution: Spread trade.” This means truly free and fair trades, without subsidies, quotas, barriers or sanctions. This well-written thought-provoking book (a gift book!) takes you from archaic to contemporary economic ideas. I strongly recommend it for all - especially those who think they already “know” economics - Michael Shermer will teach you a realistic view of economics.