"The Free Market" has been a dominant concept in 20th century political and economic discourse – so dominant in fact that it has remained unquestioned. It has become both ambition and panacea as is reflected by the conditionalities of development banks. Let the "invisible Hand" reign supreme and all shall be well, seems to be the mantra. Yet in the 21st century, even the US right, once stalwart defenders of libertarianism, have fallen out of love with "the free market." We dissect the history of the "free market" with historian Jacob Soll whose recent book "The Free Market: History of an Idea" busts many a myth.

Jacob Soll is Professor of Philosophy, History, and Accounting at the University of Southern California. He received a BA from the University of Iowa, a D.E.A. from the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris, France, and a Ph.D. from Magdalene College, Cambridge University. He has taught at Cambridge University, Princeton University, Rutgers University, and the European University Institute in Fiesole, Italy, and USC. Soll has been awarded numerous prestigious prizes including the Jacques Barzun Prize from the American Philosophical Society, two NEH Fellowships, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and, in 2011, the $500,000 MacArthur "Genius Prize" Fellowship. His book "The Reckoning: Financial Accountability and the Rise and Fall of Nations" (2014) has been a global best seller.