Economics , 1951–59

Abstract One reason why Paul Samuelson became so well-known is his introductory economics textbook Economics, published in 1948 with new editions every three or four years. Even before publication it had been strongly attacked for its attitude towards government intervention in economic activity, and this chapter shows how these attacks continued, including a particularly prominent attack by William F. Buckley, and how Samuelson responded to them. The chapter also explains how Samuelson kept the book up to date by reorganizing and adding material to address changing views about what was topical. His textbook was the place where he introduced the widely used concept of a neoclassical synthesis.