Mark Thornton reviews Philip Duffy's book about the mysterious Irish banker Richard Cantillon (1680–1734). Many crucial Austrian insights have been found in the economics of Cantillon and his lone surviving publication, Essai sur la Nature du Commerce en General. Indeed, the origins of economic theory itself can be traced to CantilIon.

Purchase A Tale of Four Cities: From Invisible Hand to Cancel Culture by Philip G. Duffy at Mises.org/DuffyBook.

Download An Essay on Economic Theory by Richard Cantillon (edited by Mark Thornton) at Mises.org/Essai.

Order a free paperback copy of Murray Rothbard’s What Has Government Done to Our Money? at Mises.org/IssuesFree.

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