Economists, practitioners of the dismal science, are little known for their compassion or their profundity, but Robert Heilbroner, author of The Worldly Philosophers, displays both in this sweeping study of the state and future of capitalism. Based on lectures delivered at Massey College, Heilbroner"s book argues persuasively that the public sector, far from being a drag on the marketplace, can be "an indispensable source of strength;" that the death of Communism, not just an unalloyed cause for celebration, represents in some ways the end of the ideals of egalitarianism and community; and that there is "a limit beyond which acquisitiveness no longer serves, and may well disserve, the adaptability of the order." A book everyone concerned about more than their next paycheck should read.