John Rapley (no Wikipedia entry as of early 2024) has a CV at the academic site academia.edu. He has an academic position at Cambridge, and has taught at Cambridge's Centre of Development Studies. He is a poltical scientist, with an interest in political economy, international institutions, and markets. He has written several articles for the Toronto Globe and Mail and other publications.
This 2017 book traces the prevalent ideas in economics from the "neo-classical" ideas of the late 19th century. Dr. Rapley notes the growth of economics as an academic discipline, and the steps taken by academic economists to make economics influential in business and government. He notes that economist tend to articulate theories as rules of life, and to prove the accuracy of mathematical models by observations of the behaviour of business persons, corporation, bankers, banks, markets politicians, bureaucrats and governments.
He considers economics to be less scientific and more political than the consensus view of most academic economists maintains.
He offers a history of the role of economic theory in the history of the 20th century, explaining the effects of international agreements on currency and trade and role of leading economist in making policy and affecting events around the world. He appears to claim that economics is a kind of secular religion. This is a rhetorical device. His argument is that the opinions and advice of economists play the role that the words and theories of religious persons have played in human life - explanations for events that individuals experience and cannot control.
This book is very clear, and quite interesting. ( )