Introduction

For over half a century, from the ‘years of high theory,’ through the decline of Keynesianism and rise of monetarist and new classical alternatives, John Hicks made fundamental contributions to economics. In this chapter I survey the reception of his books, from The Theory of Wages (1932), through Value and Capital (1939a), to A Market Theory of Money (1989a). I do so in order to gauge the initial reactions to his path-breaking work, which range from high praise to harsh criticism: if critical, depending upon the intellectual traditions some reviewers were ‘defending’ against Hicksian insights; if supportive, depending on the degree to which they identified with his analytical methods.

The medium of the book review has a peculiar place in the history of economics, especially with regard to reviews of Hicks's work, many of which have been overlooked. To reassess all reviews of Hicks is not my object. Indeed, that would be a Herculean task. What I do try to present is a systematic way of dealing with reviews of his work, by surveying what I consider to be key reviews of Hicks.

In order to accomplish this, I distinguish between purposive reviews, critical or supportive, as against substantive reviews, dealing with an essential central message. Such a demarcation between ‘types’ of review can be complemented by reference to their ‘focus.’ Stephen Toulmin (1972: 307–13) distinguishes between ‘external’ and ‘internal’ analytical focus.