An economist by profession, Robert Heilbroner is the author of a number of books and articles that put economic theories and developments into historical perspective and relate them to contemporary social and political problems. He is especially noteworthy for his gloomy speculations on the future of a world confronted by the environmental limits to economic growth.

Born in New York City in 1919, Heilbroner received a bachelor's degree from Harvard University in 1940 and a Bronze Star for his service in World War II. In 1963 he earned a Ph.D. in economics from the New School for Social Research in New York, and in 1972, became the Norman Thomas Professor of Economics there. His books include The Worldly Philosophers (1955), The Making of Economic Society (1962), Marxism: For and Against (1980), and The Nature and Logic of Capitalism (1985). He has...