A history of economic thought (Istoriya ekonomicheskoi mysli) is a book by the Russian economist Isaak Illich Rubin (1886–1937).
It critically appraises the theories of major writers, and places their thought in the context of the economic and social changes of their day.
[1] Part one begins with the economic context of the later Middle Ages in Western Europe, including the institutions of the feudal demesne, the guilds and master craftsmen; expanding trade among West European countries, and the importance of colonial trade.
The political context is set in terms of the rise of mercantilist policy in England in the 16th and 17th centuries.
An intellectual biography of Adam Smith places him in the context of the Scottish Enlightenment as both an economist and a philosopher, well acquainted with the French Physiocratic school.
The historical context takes up the industrial revolution in England as it progressed between Smith's time and Ricardo's.
Simonde de Sismondi's theory of capitalist crises and criticism of JB Say are presented as important advances running contrary to the period of decline, but Rubin balances this by noting the reactionary character of Sismondi's work in that he argued limiting the volume of industrial development and pined for the small-peasant economy.
[This takes up a history of economic thought from a similar Marxist standpoint, but emphasizes the dynamic aspects of Marx's theory with are missing in Rubin.