Nobel Prize Winner 4

Paul A. Samuelson (1915-2009), the first American Nobel laureate in Economics and a prominent figure in Keynesian economics, founded the neoclassical synthesis school by integrating Keynesian economic theory with neoclassical economics. He was the first to systematically introduce mathematical methods into economics, ushering in a new era of mathematical economics. His research spanned a wide range of topics across various fields of economics, making him a rare polymath on a global scale. His classic work, "Economics," is referred to as the "Bible of Economics" and remains a required textbook in many economics programs worldwide.

Biography#

Born on May 15, 1915, in Gary, Indiana, USA.

In 1935 and 1936, he received his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from the University of Chicago.
In 1941, he earned his Master of Arts and Ph.D. from Harvard University. His doctoral dissertation won the David A. Wells prize. During his time at Harvard, he studied under Joseph Schumpeter, Wassily Leontief, and Alvin Hansen, focusing on economic dynamics.
In 1940, Samuelson joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as an assistant professor and was promoted to associate professor in 1944.
In 1945, he worked for the U.S. War Production Board and the Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion, serving as an economic advisor to the U.S. Treasury.
In 1947, he published "Foundations of Economic Analysis," which provided a mathematical direction, framework, and tools for economic theory, shifting economic research from normative to positive economics, and earned him the Nobel Prize in Economics 23 years later.
In 1948, he published his representative work "Economics," known as the "Bible of Economics."
In 1958, he co-authored "Linear Programming and Economic Analysis" with Solow and Dorfman, making significant contributions to the newly emerging field of econometrics.
From 1959 to 1960, he served as an advisor to the President's Advisory Committee on Economic Affairs and became an economic advisor to the National Planning Board in 1960.
In 1965, he was appointed as an advisor to the Economic Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Bank and served as president of the American Economic Association.
In 1970, he was awarded the second Nobel Prize in Economics, becoming the first American Nobel laureate in Economics.

Achievements

Samuelson was referred to as the "last encyclopedic economist," having touched upon nearly every area of economics. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences praised his work in the announcement of his Nobel Prize in 1970, stating that it "covered almost all fields of contemporary Western economics." The Associated Press summarized his major achievements by saying, "He introduced mathematical analysis into economics, helped the Kennedy administration formulate the famous Kennedy tax cut in the face of economic difficulties, and wrote a textbook that has been regarded as a classic by millions of college students."

Introducing Mathematics into

Economics

Samuelson stated in a speech in February 1985, "When I began studying economics at the University of Chicago in 1932, economics was still just a verbal discipline." At that time, mathematics had not yet been incorporated into the field of economics. Later, during his time at Harvard, he gradually developed a mindset of analyzing economics through mathematical methods, using mathematics as a tool to analyze economic issues, a practice unmatched at Harvard at the time. His doctoral dissertation, "The Operational Significance of Economic Theory," earned him the Wells Prize at Harvard. In 1947, seven years after leaving Harvard, Samuelson built upon this award-winning dissertation through more in-depth research, completing and publishing "Foundations of Economic Analysis," in which he transformed the traditional Marshallian economic language with a mathematical deductive and systematic analytical paradigm. This also earned him the American Clark Medal, specifically established for young economists under 40, making him the first recipient of this award.

Kennedy Tax Cut

In January 1961, during his first State of the Union address, Kennedy pessimistically announced, "The current economic situation is disturbing. We are taking office after experiencing seven months of recession, three and a half years of depression, seven years of declining economic growth, and nine years of falling agricultural income." As early as 1960, Samuelson had given Kennedy a 40-minute economics lesson on a beach in Massachusetts, telling him that "temporarily reducing personal income tax rates could be a powerful weapon against recession." Kennedy adopted Samuelson's advice and implemented the famous "Kennedy tax cut," which increased consumer spending, expanded aggregate demand, and boosted production and employment in the economy. In fact, when the tax cut proposed by Kennedy was implemented in 1964, it led to a period of economic growth. Samuelson also became an indispensable advisor in the White House.

Classic Textbook

"Economics"

One day in the late 1940s, a sales representative from McGraw-Hill Education visited MIT, feeling disheartened after having no success. Just then, a young teaching assistant told him, "I just finished writing an economics textbook; I wonder if your company would be interested in publishing it." The sales representative, with a sense of luck, submitted the manuscript for review, leading to the emergence of the classic textbook "Economics," which has influenced generations. This young MIT teaching assistant was Samuelson.

"Economics" is a comprehensive work that integrates all systematic theories of economics since William Petty (1623-1687). Samuelson combined Keynesian theory with neoclassical microeconomics, microstatic analysis, and macro-dynamic analysis, resolving debates in economics within a unified framework, thus forming the neoclassical synthesis. Since its publication, this textbook has established its position as the third generation of textbooks in the history of economics, marking a watershed moment between modern economics and traditional economics. This book is regarded as the ancestor of modern economics textbooks, with many current economics textbooks adopting the analytical framework and methods from "Economics," which combines macroeconomics and traditional microeconomics into the "neoclassical synthesis" theoretical framework. Its lasting influence is astonishing, profoundly impacting generations. At the time of Samuelson's passing, the book had gone through 19 editions, been translated into over 40 languages, and sold more than 4 million copies, with many economists gaining valuable economic thinking from it. It can be said without exaggeration that all economists are Samuelson's students.

The Twisted Life of a Genius Professor

Samuelson was born in 1915 into a Jewish family in Gary, Indiana. Jewish heritage often symbolizes wisdom, but in the prevailing environment of the time, it also often meant challenges.

Harvard's academic tradition was relatively conservative at the time, and Samuelson's Jewish background (perhaps along with other factors) ultimately could not be accommodated by the traditional authorities of the school. After graduating with his Ph.D. in 1940, Samuelson had to go to a school that was somewhat aligned with Harvard—MIT. Harvard's failure to retain Samuelson may have left him with a lifelong sense of grievance, driving him to be more ambitious and proactive, quickly making MIT's economics department renowned nationwide and globally, surpassing Harvard.

Samuelson's textbook "Economics" has remained popular for decades. What transpired behind the scenes of this bestselling book?

During the era of Senator Joseph McCarthy's power in the U.S. Congress, the condemnation of radicalism echoed in churches and classrooms, and Samuelson's textbook was also among those facing criticism. A conservative alumnus of MIT warned President Compton that if Samuelson were allowed to publish a defense of "mixed economics," it would tarnish his honor as president. At that time, as a public university teacher, Samuelson faced the reality where many popular textbooks were labeled as "subversive." A notable textbook published a year before Samuelson's, which was excellent, was banned for being accused of "Marxism" before its influence could spread. In the 1960s, when activism surged on American campuses, Samuelson was also portrayed as a defender of a laissez-faire market system, a staunch capitalist. Nevertheless, due to his ability to comprehensively and meticulously address different factions within mainstream economics, Samuelson's "Economics" maintained its representative status in economics reference literature.

References
[1] Journal | [J] The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought. Volume 28, Issue 5. 2021. PP 880-883.

[2] Journal | [J] Journal of Post Keynesian Economics. Volume 3, Issue 4. 2015. PP 602-604.

[3] Editorial. Paul Samuelson: The End of an Era in Economics [J]. Business Weekly, 2010(01): 82-85.

[4] Yi Aidong. The Last Encyclopedic Economist—Paul Samuelson [J]. Farm Economic Management, 2014(03): 64.

[5] Journal | [J] The American Economist. Volume 50, Issue 2. 2006. PP 9-31.

[6] Paul Samuelson: The Last Generalist in Economics—1970 Nobel Prize in Economics [J]. China Economic Review, 2021(07): 92-93.

Childhood
Russian-Polish Heritage
Paul knew from a young age that his family was Jewish. Many of the regular customers at his father's pharmacy were Jewish, and a list of his high school peers showed that many of his classmates were also Jewish. Unusually for their generation, Paul's parents did not practice their religious faith, so Jewish holidays were not part of his upbringing. Years later, whether encountering discussions about anti-Semitism at Harvard or the absence of anti-Semitic sentiments at the University of Chicago, he remained largely silent. Based on the books on the shelf, Paul inferred that his father was an atheist.
Hyde Park High School
Paul often described himself as self-taught, spending time in the library. This habit developed early.
University of Chicago: 1932
Encountering Social Sciences
After graduating from Hyde Park High School, Samuelson inevitably entered the University of Chicago; the university played a crucial role not only in his academic career but also in shaping his self-image as an economist. It was during his undergraduate years at the University of Chicago that he decided to become an economist and study the discipline through mathematics. He also stated that the University of Chicago opened the door to the natural sciences for him, as he had only briefly encountered these subjects at Hyde Park High School. However, the importance of the University of Chicago extended beyond this; Samuelson repeatedly emphasized that it trained his traditional economic wisdom, even though traditional economics would soon be upended by the Keynesian revolution he would encounter years later at Harvard.
In the 1930s, the University of Chicago was one of the main centers for social science research in the United States. During Samuelson's first two years studying economics, it was still taught as a component of social science. The economic system was not described as something distinctly different—it was not related to an isolated abstract entity called the "economy," but was seen as part of the functioning of the entire society. Samuelson began to encounter an anthropological perspective on human existence. Although this was not Samuelson's primary focus, the training he received in social sciences (which differed from that of most modern economists) helped explain his approach to economic issues. It was an important part of his intellectual development. We can be certain that he took non-economic subjects seriously; aside from consistently earning A grades and receiving a political science award, his deep study of economics came later—he even briefly considered becoming a sociologist.
Natural Sciences and Social Sciences: 1932-1933
Natural Sciences
Samuelson believed that the biology and physics courses he took in his sophomore year were particularly important.
He was taught that the scientific method "is essentially empirical and based on the observation of phenomena," and that "the rationality of reality" is an implicit assumption; the purpose of scientific research is to establish causal relationships. First, one must observe, and then analyze; biology was just entering the latter stage. Samuelson also encountered the idea that equilibrium thinking is crucial to scientific research. "Dynamic equilibrium" is central to biology, used to define the concept of "animal" as the basic unit of living organisms. There is no clear distinction between living and "non-living" entities; animals simply "happen to appear."
Each living unit is a pseudo-isolated system within dynamic equilibrium. Continuous material and energy flow exchanges occur in different individual channels in their own ways. Despite deep internal replacements within the system, this material flow is controlled by the organization of the system to maintain its integrity as a unit. Other systems in dynamic equilibrium essentially embody all characteristics of living organisms. For example, it is almost impossible to define the difference between the flame of a candle and a living organism using any vocabulary. Oxygen (breathing) and matter (food) enter the organism after being broken down (digested) and are ultimately oxidized (metabolized) to obtain energy that sustains the organism and eliminate (excrete) waste.
Later, the equilibrium concept that Samuelson used to unify economics was being employed as a general framework for understanding the entire world of life. The main content of the biology course involved explanations of important groupings of organic life, focusing on situations with difficult-to-define boundaries and recognizing differences between higher and lower organisms. This part of the syllabus concluded with a discussion of prehistoric humans and an evolutionary explanation of race, primarily focusing on visible characteristics, explicitly denying the interrelation between race and nationality, and denying the existence of the Aryan race. Biology has enlightening implications for social analysis.
Making abstract things concrete is the source of much confusion and error in psychological thought. Psychology first lost its "soul," then its "mind," and finally its "consciousness." This broad criticism is not inappropriate when taken literally, as these terms resemble "rings" that represent independently existing entities or forces.
The motivations behind saving are very complex and uncertain. One thing is clear: most of the supply of social capital comes from, and must come from, those who do not consume or do not wish to consume at any time but leave behind large inheritances after death. Connecting the motivation for leaving behind an inheritance after death with the trade-off between current consumption and future consumption seems to be nonsensical. Other arguments further weaken the view that psychological discounting (for the future) is the main reason affecting interest rates, but we will not discuss that here.
Essentially, science is about establishing causal relationships. Scientific knowledge can be used to control causes to achieve desired outcomes. Determining what should be included in the goals falls within the realm of philosophy, while how to achieve those goals belongs to the realm of science.
Since Samuelson considered the possibility that foreign prices might fluctuate due to the depreciation of the dollar, his analysis was closer to quantity theory analysis: retaliatory actions could occur, making any advantage only temporary. International prices would only rise when the depreciation of the dollar synchronously increased the means of payment. The 40% depreciation of the dollar in January would not significantly impact the world money supply. However, when a certain amount of gold supports a larger money supply, the likelihood of inflation would increase.
One important aspect of currency depreciation is that it allows for the establishment of a higher monetary pyramid on a smaller monetary base. In other words, it raises the ceiling for inflation (regardless of whether it aligns with people's wishes), but it is not inflation itself. Just as the monarch in Greek mythology cannot stop the tide from rising merely by decree, the government cannot raise price levels simply by persuasion.
Samuelson inferred that although currency depreciation would not significantly raise price levels, it would "lay the groundwork for greater inflation in the future."
Betraying the Chicago School of Economics
Samuelson believed that Simons had already perceived the concept of the "liquidity trap," meaning that there might be a certain interest rate level at which the public is willing to hold all issued currency, thus forming a lower limit for interest rates. He also believed that Wainhouse was an eclectic pragmatist who confirmed through empirical research that when people want to hoard money, borrowing becomes exceedingly difficult.
The war made people realize that while the current problem is insufficient demand, the fundamental economic issue remains resource scarcity. This led Samuelson and Nixon to believe that full employment is a ceiling that can never be reached. They seriously considered the supply side of the economy, not just aggregate demand.
Schumpeter, at the beginning of this book, reviewed the previous Great Depression and concluded that economic recovery would not only eventually come on its own but would be best if it did so. Taking measures (presumably unemployment relief) to mitigate the worst effects of the Great Depression was necessary, but importantly, these measures should not harm the economic organism and should allow it to make necessary adjustments on its own. Although he optimistically pointed out that economic downturns would eventually end, his argument was tinged with fatalism, suggesting that the government could not take any measures to accelerate the economic recovery process.
Since the 19th century, a widely circulated view in mainstream literature has been "underconsumptionism," which argues that purchasing power is too low and needs to be increased. In contrast, Chamberlain argued that the concept of increasing purchasing power is erroneous, whether achieved through increased consumption or higher wages. Consumption can only be increased at the expense of investment, so measures to increase consumption benefit one economic sector while sacrificing another. Raising wages would benefit employed workers but only at the expense of the unemployed and other classes. Higher wages could also backfire, as high wages might lead companies to mechanize production, thereby reducing employment. Many New Deal measures aimed to increase the income of affected industries by raising prices.
This book tells the story of a student with a humanistic background who, through interdisciplinary education in social sciences, stepped into the field of economics. He recognized during his undergraduate studies that mathematics might be the key to unlocking the secrets of this discipline. He discovered his talent for research in this area and, under the guidance of Wilson and Hansen, grew into a dominant economist in this field during the 1950s. In 1948, at just 33 years old, Samuelson immersed himself in his work as a full professor at MIT, and his outstanding achievements were recognized by the American Economic Association, leading to the publication of two significant works. From that point on, Samuelson's story changed. It was no longer a tale of a young man searching for his path but rather the story of an iconic figure in the field. That would be the exciting chapter of another book.

Paul Samuelson raised the level of mathematical analysis in economics more than any other economist. Until the late 1930s, when Samuelson began his astonishing and prolific writing, economics was typically understood through verbal explanations and graphical models. At the age of 21, while studying for his Ph.D. at Harvard, he wrote his first published article, "A Note on the Measurement of Utility." In 1938, he introduced the concept of "revealed preference" in an article. His goal was to determine whether a consumer was better off after a price change by observing their choices; in fact, Samuelson defined the environment in which people could make judgments. Consumers revealed their preferences through their choices—hence the term "revealed preference."

Samuelson's monumental work "Foundations of Economic Analysis" spread the mathematical revolution in economics better than any other book. Based on his Harvard doctoral dissertation, this book demonstrated that nearly all economic behavior could be understood as maximization or minimization under constraints. John R. Hicks did something similar in his 1939 work "Value and Capital." However, while Hicks relegated mathematics to an appendix, "Samuelson," wrote his student Stanley Fischer, "showed off his mathematics in the text." Samuelson's mathematical approach brought new rigor to economics. As Nobel laureate Robert Lucas said, "He would let these baffling verbal debates go on forever; he posed questions in answerable ways and then provided answers."

Samuelson was one of the last polymaths to achieve remarkable accomplishments in many areas of economics. He made significant contributions to consumer theory and welfare economics, international trade, financial theory, capital theory, dynamics, general equilibrium, and macroeconomics.

Swedish economist Bertil Ohlin believed that international trade would equalize the prices of production factors. For example, trade between India and the United States would narrow the wage gap between the two countries. Samuelson used mathematical tools to demonstrate the conditions under which differentials approach zero. The theorem he proved is called the factor price equalization theorem.

At the age of 50, Samuelson began studying financial theory, and some of his preliminary research indicated that rational expectations of future prices should fluctuate randomly. He also made pioneering contributions to capital theory, but his contributions are too complex to describe in a few sentences.

Economists have long believed that some goods cannot be provided by the private sector because it is difficult to charge beneficiaries. National defense is one of the best examples of such goods. In a 1954 article, Samuelson attempted for the first time to provide a rigorous definition of public goods.

In macroeconomics, Samuelson demonstrated how to combine the accelerator theory of investment with the Keynesian income determination model to explain the cyclical nature of business cycles. He also introduced the concept of neoclassical synthesis—the synthesis of old neoclassical microeconomics and new (1950s) Keynesian macroeconomics. Samuelson believed that to achieve full employment, the government needed to intervene through fiscal and monetary policies. Under conditions of full employment, markets function well, except for providing public goods and addressing externality issues. James Tobin called the neoclassical synthesis theory one of Samuelson's greatest contributions to economics.

In "Linear Programming and Economic Analysis," Samuelson and co-authors Robert Dorfman and Robert Solow applied optimization techniques to price theory and growth theory, thereby integrating these previously separate fields.

As a prolific writer, Samuelson averaged one academic paper per month for over 50 years. His approximately 338 articles are collected in a five-volume set titled "Collected Scientific Papers" (1966-1986). Since 1948, he has revised his widely popular textbook "Economics" almost every three years; it has been translated into multiple languages. Samuelson once said, "If I could write a country's economics textbook, I wouldn't need to care about who makes the laws in that country."

In 1970, Paul Samuelson became the first American to receive the Nobel Prize in Economics. The award was given for "his scientific work that developed static and dynamic economic theory and made significant contributions to improving the analytical level of economic science."

In 1940, at the age of 26, Samuelson began teaching at MIT and became a full professor six years later. At the time of writing this (2006), he was still there. In addition to receiving the Nobel Prize, Samuelson also received the John Bates Clark Award in 1947—an award given for the most outstanding work by economists under 40. He served as president of the American Economic Association in 1961. Samuelson was born in Gary, Indiana. At 16, he entered the University of Chicago, studying under Frank Knight, Jacob Viner, and other masters, alongside emerging economists Milton Friedman and George Stigler, who were still graduate students. Samuelson continued his graduate work at Harvard.

Like Friedman, Samuelson had a regular column in Newsweek from 1966 to 1981. However, unlike Friedman, he was not enthusiastic about free markets—or government intervention in markets—either then or now. His joy seemed to come from providing new evidence, demonstrating technical skills, and clever phrasing.

Samuelson once said, "Once, I asked my friend, statistician Harold Freeman, 'Harold, if the devil came to you with a deal, offering you a brilliant theorem in exchange for your immortal soul, would you do it?' 'No,' he replied, 'but I would want an inequality.' I love that answer."

About the Author

David R. Henderson is the editor of the "Concise Encyclopedia of Economics." He is also a professor emeritus of economics at the Naval Postgraduate School and a research fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He earned his Ph.D. in economics from UCLA.

The publication of Samuelson's "Economics" essentially marked a watershed moment between modern economics and traditional economics.

At the 1947 American Economic Association meeting, Paul Douglas, as president of the association, awarded the first Clark Medal to the then-under-40 Samuelson, predicting that Samuelson would have an unlimited future in the field of economics.

Twenty-three years later, in 1970, Samuelson became the first American to receive the highest award in economics—the Nobel Prize in Economics.

Born at the Right Time#

"In the year Galileo died, Newton was born; by 1883, Marx had died, but Keynes was born." This quote appeared in Samuelson's column, humorously reflecting on history. His statement undoubtedly evokes the thought that after Keynes, Samuelson emerged.

Paul Samuelson was born on May 15, 1915, into a Polish Jewish immigrant family in Gary, Indiana, USA. The Jewish sensitivity to economics was vividly displayed in this family, with siblings who were all economists, and a nephew who served as U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers during the Clinton administration.

Thus, while Samuelson's entry into the field of economics was somewhat accidental, his future achievements proved that this field was tailor-made for him.

With a genius mind, Samuelson entered the University of Chicago at the age of 15. He once stated, "Economists were truly born at the right time in 1932." This was because 1932 was at the bottom of the Great Depression in the United States, where the decay was palpable, yet one could already sense the fertile ground for rejuvenation.

Indeed, in 1936, John Maynard Keynes published his most influential work, "The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money," revitalizing economics.

At the same time, Samuelson arrived at Harvard University and became an assistant to Harvard economics professor Alvin Hansen. Professor Hansen was a follower of Keynesianism, who popularized Keynesianism in America and made some contributions. Influenced by Hansen, Samuelson began to focus on Keynesianism.

At that time, society paid considerable attention to the "investment multiplier" and "employment multiplier" theories within Keynesian theory. Samuelson believed that Keynesianism emerged against the historical backdrop of the economic crisis that spread throughout the capitalist world, which began with the stock market crash on Wall Street in April 1929 and essentially ceased in 1933. Keynes's theories were valuable for the development of capitalism.

While pursuing his Ph.D., Samuelson reread works from William Petty to Adam Smith, from Ricardo to Marshall, Walras, Pareto, Pigou, and Keynes, allowing him to survey the entire history of economic thought.

MIT President Susan Hockfield issued a statement immediately after Samuelson's passing in 2009: Samuelson changed everything he touched.

First, Samuelson changed the analytical methods of economics.

He stated, "When I began studying economics at the University of Chicago in 1932, economics was still just a verbal discipline."

"In traditional economics, there was a plethora of outdated fallacies, and robust new scientific shoots could hardly sprout from this soil, while fashionable textbooks and papers could not effectively reflect the realities of the world." The economics Samuelson referred to was at its weakest point since classical economics was founded by Adam Smith in 1776. "Economics was like Sleeping Beauty; its awakening awaited a kiss from new methods, new paradigms, new talents, and new problems." In this "golden age" of rejuvenation, Samuelson gave his beloved economics a kiss—introducing mathematical analysis into modern economics.

Professor Assar Lindbeck of the Stockholm School of Economics evaluated Samuelson: "In general, Samuelson's contribution is that he has contributed to raising the level of the general analytical methods of economic science more than any other contemporary economist. He effectively rewrote many parts of economic theory." One of the reasons he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1970 was that his research encompassed all fields of economics.

Secondly, he integrated the seemingly incompatible Keynesianism with traditional microeconomics, founding the neoclassical synthesis.

Samuelson's basic viewpoint was that the market mechanism is not omnipotent and has inherent flaws. His accelerator-multiplier model demonstrated the inevitability of economic cycles under the spontaneous adjustment of market mechanisms. This was proof of the imperfections of market mechanisms.

He advocated for a mixed economy that combined private and government roles, where the market mechanism operates alongside government intervention to overcome the shortcomings of the market mechanism.

The 1960s was a period of rapid economic growth in the post-war recovery in the United States. During the presidency of Kennedy and Johnson, the U.S. did not experience an economic crisis.

At that time, Keynesianism was labeled "post-war prosperity," and as the chief economic advisor to the president, Samuelson became synonymous with American Keynesianism, with the achievements of the U.S. in economic development being seen as the accomplishments of the "neoclassical synthesis."

As early as January 1961, when Kennedy took office, he expressed pessimism: "The current economic situation is disturbing. We are taking office after experiencing seven months of recession, three and a half years of depression, seven years of declining economic growth, and nine years of falling agricultural income."

To help the economy recover, Kennedy adopted Samuelson's advice and implemented the famous "Kennedy tax cut," which increased consumer spending, expanded aggregate demand, and boosted production and employment in the economy. In fact, when the tax cut proposed by Kennedy was finally implemented in 1964, it led to a period of high economic growth. From then on, Kennedy became the first U.S. president to clearly advocate Keynesianism, and Samuelson's status rose accordingly.

Finally, of course, we must mention the monumental classic "Economics."

Before this, the status of economics textbooks was monopolized by Mill's "Principles of Political Economy" and Marshall's "Principles of Economics," but the publication of Samuelson's "Economics" essentially marked a watershed moment between modern economics and traditional economics. At the time of Samuelson's passing, this book had gone through 19 editions, been translated into over 40 languages, and sold over 10 million copies.

Although contemporary economics giant Stiglitz's "Economics" aims at the former classics, it cannot change the reality that he was once a disciple of Samuelson.

The influence of this book on Chinese economics is immeasurable. Liang Xiaomin once pointed out that economics students after the 1977 level were introduced to the realm of modern economics through this book. They studied "political economy" in class, but upon seeing "Economics," it was as if they had opened a completely different world. At that time, among economics students, there even formed a trend of "if you don't mention Samuelson's book, discussing poetry and literature is in vain." Those who are now government leaders, entrepreneurs, or scholars still speak passionately and excitedly about "Economics." Today, it may be hard for people to appreciate the impact this book had at the time.

Samuelson has left us, but the brilliance of the wise shines like the stars in the sky!