Abstract:The theories of western economics have developed ever since 1930s, resulting in a lot of different schools. The two dominant schools, state Interventionism and Economic Liberalism, have experienced ups and downs, absorbing and blending with each other. This article explores systematically all the major schools of modern economics, and analyses not only cases of the two opposite schools but the “third road” in the Clinton administration, so that China can use them for reference in economic development.