I should think that one feature recommending the family 
tree project is the very fact that it is open to alternative 
interpretations, and makes inspires one to think about the 
significance of history to the shape of contemporary ideas.  The 
fact that the task has no 'right answers' is one reason it is' 
worth doing -- a provocative way to inspire interest in the history 
of economic thought.   
 
Greg Ransom 
Dept. of Philosophy 
UC-Riverside