There is a 'missing idea' in economic thought: the relationship between an increase in consumption and increased productivity. It disappeared thanks to an attitude which Heckscher referred to as a 'fear of goods'. This book attempts to trace the absence of this idea, its origins and consequences, from ancient times to the present day. Cosimo Perrotta seeks in these pages to establish the theoretical importance of the idea of 'consumption as an investment' as well as to conduct an in-depth study into the changing and contradictory attitudes towards consumption in the history of economic thought. Until now, there has been no book which has charted the history of consumption through the history economic thought. Thankfully, this volume fills the gap admirably and as such will greatly interest historians from many disciplines as well as economists generally.
