THE Invisible HEART
AN ECONOMIC ROMANCE
RUSSELL ROBERTS
A love story that embraces
the business and economic issues of the day?
The Invisible Heart takes
a provocative look at business, economics, and regulation through the eyes of Sam Gordon
and Laura Silver, teachers at the exclusive Edwards School in Washington, D.C. Sam lives
and breathes capitalism. He thinks that most government regulation is unnecessary or even
harmful. He believes that success in business is a virtue. He believes that our humanity
flourishes under economic freedom. Laura prefers Wordsworth to the Wall Street Journal.
"Where Sam sees victors, she sees victims. She wants the government to protect
consumers and workers from the excesses of Sam's beloved marketplace.
While Sam and Laura argue
about how to make the world a better place, a parallel story unfolds across town. Erica
Baldwin, the crusading head of a government watchdog agency, tries to bring Charles
Krauss, a ruthless CEO, to justice. How are these two dramas connected? Why is Sam under
threat of dismissal? Will Erica Baldwin find the evidence she needs? Can Laura love a man
with an Adam Smith poster on his wall? The answers in The Invisible Heart give the reader
a richer appreciation for how business and the marketplace transform our lives.
Russell Roberts is the John
M. Olin Senior Fellow at the Murray Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and
Public Policy (formerly the Center for the Study of American Rusiness) at Washington
University in St. Louis. He is the author of The Choice: A Fable of Free Trade and
Protectionism, a 1994 Business Week "best business book of the year," and is a
commentator on National Public Radio.
269 pages