Principles of Political Economy: And Chapters on Socialism (Oxford World's Classics)

Rating:
Summary: correction from argentina
Review: I must be a complete idiot. I finally decided to open this abridged edition of Mill's Political Economy & Chaps on Socialism, just to see what's going on in there. Lo & behold, as anybody with eyes can see, there ARE extensive notes on the text, including an index of names referred to by Mill! However, I wish to reiterate my claim that it is an "awful edition" for idiots who don't open the book or are unable to read the table of contents. Why doesn't Oxford provide user guides to explain these complex matters?

Rating:
Summary: Awful Edition
Review: The Oxford Classic's edition of th Principles of J.S.Mill is an awful one. It not only omits complete sections of the work and doesn't mention it in the cover but lacks notes and even an index.

Don't buy it!

Rating:
Summary: Great book, but not in this edition
Review: This book gives a comprehensive and readable, if somewhat formally written overview of classical economics, reflecting the state of the field in 1848. As may be expected of a book 150+ years old, much of its content is outdated today. But it's remarkable how well Mill's thoughts about the mechanics of the economy, and how they affect the fabric of society, have aged. It is most instructive to read the book in parallel with a competing, much more enthusiastically hyped text, also published in 1848: Karl Marx's "Communist Manifesto". Mill's "Principles" are required reading for everyone seriously interested in the history of economic thought.

But I have to agree with the earlier reviewer: don't read it in this edition! It's not just the footnotes, some of which were reprinted, some of which weren't. The trouble is that "Book 1: Production", is missing completely. That's a fifth of the whole text! That's the reason I'm giving the book three stars: five for the content, one for the edition.

My advice would be this: Check out the book in electronic form, which is available at the www.econlib.org website. If you like it, by all means buy a paper edition -- but not this one!