Held in conjunction with ST 600, "Market Failure, Famines and Crisis," Dr. Peter Temin is the first lecturer in the Commitee on Social Theory Spring Lecture Series. His lecture is entitled "Lessons of the Great Depression." He provides an integrated view of the Depression, covering the experience in Britain, France, Germany, and the US; hediscusses the causes, why it was so widespread and prolonged; and what brought about the world's eventual recovery. Peter Temin also finds parallels between the Great Depression and current policies that are recommended and sometimes followed by governments. Dr. Temin is a professor in the Department of Economics and History at MIT. His most recent publications include The Roman Market Economy, Princeton University Press, 2013 and The Leaderless Economy: Why the World Economic System Fell Apart and How to Fix It, Princeton University Press, 2013 (with David Vines).