Heilbroner's <b>The Worldly Philosophers</b>,<i>7th edition</i> - A Great Work

I think that of all the economic books I have encountered, Robert Heilbroner's The Worldly Philosophers provides an incredibly readable history of economics (at least upto 1950s or so) with an elucidation of the ideas of economics. 

Reading it made me realize that supply siders and libertarians have forgotten or not truly considered economics since Keynes (except to attack him) and that they forget that economics was originally called "Moral Philosphy" indicating a much broader view that how it is used today.

In the book, Heilbroner elucidates the issues about capitalism and economics and about  dozen of its major thinkers. Of those, Adam Smith, Malthus/Ricardo,  Marx, and J. M. Keynes stand out as still very relevant to today. Hayek is briefly mentioned under the Chapter for Keynes, which is interesting in a variety of ways.

  It's also true that only since Keynes has the role of gov't in economic life and in markets so changed the view of economics in many minds.

Things I don't understand about supply side economics or libertarians.

1. They never deal with the consequences of long term tax cutting.
2. They never seem to understand that they are a part of society and seem to be out for "perfect liberty" or "perfect freedom."
3. It's simple business - capitalism runs on marginal profits and the ability to make a profit depends on - you guessed it - DEMAND. If a customer is willing to buy a product but can't pay for it, the prudent business decision is to lower the price or do other things to increase your volume to make up for the lost revenue. It takes 2 - a buyer and a seller to complete a transaction.

4. Tax rates are not the determinant of demand - it may impact demand, but on the whole, not the sole factor to how demand is derived.
5. I wonder why we never ever hear of a rich person who does NOT invest or put the money to productive use. Lowering of taxes on Rich or Corporations results or translates directly into hiring or investment.
6. Also, aren't the rich in a way holding back the capitalist machine by investing in financial products for higher returns? If those savings of the rich are thrown into Wall Street, then how is it productive for the nation or the country as a whole?
7. Trickle down - Top pisses on the Bottom.

8. CEO pay has risen from 50X avg pay in the 1980s to astronomical 2 or 300X in the intervening years. How has this benefitted society and the nation?