Dr.John Adams

There are several reasons I chose this book.  The Late Scholastics were primarily members of Christian religious orders that built upon the works of Thomas Aquinas from after his death in the late 13th century up to the mid 17th century.  While their primary concerns were Biblical standards and social justice, their brilliant economic analysis places them firmly as the founders of modern economic thought.  Centuries before Adam Smith’s "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations,” the Late Scholastics convincingly argued that private property rights, free markets and profit incentives serve to promote the general welfare better than wealth transfers to the poor and needy.

However, the most important reason I chose this book is that far too often secularists dismiss religion based scholarly work and members of faith communities are wary of secular science.  This book serves as a reminder that religious and secular studies are not mutually exclusive in their ability to rigorously examine economics and other sciences.