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ادبیات و اقتصاد آزادی: نظم خود جوش فرهنگ
مولفان کتاب «ادبیات و اقتصاد آزادی» کوشیدهاند نشان دهند که داستاننویسان بزرگ جهان، از سروانتس تا توماس مان، زشتیها و بیعدالتیهای جهان را با استادی تمام نشان دادهاند؛ اما تحلیل ادبی و فلسفی آثار ایشان نشان میدهد که ریشه این تباهیها را اقتصاد آزاد یا رقابتی نمیدانستهاند، بلکه در این آثار نشان دادهاند که دقیقا برعکس این صادق است، یعنی چیرگی قدرت سیاسی بر بازار است که موجب فقر و تیرهروزی شده است نه جاری بودن سازوکارهای بازار. مطالعه این کتاب نشان میدهد هدف اولیه و بنیادی علم اقتصاد-دستکم از منظری که در این کتاب معرفی شده- ، آموزش مهارتهای کسب پول نیست؛ بلکه تبیین فلسفهای روشن درباب کنشهای بشری و نشان دادن درونمایههای فلسفی و هنری کردارهای آدمی است که در داد و ستد و بازار متبلور و بازنموده میشود. چنین دانشی به زندگی انسان معنا میبخشد و عناصر مشروعیتبخشی به آزادی او را کشف میکند. بنابراین کتاب «ادبیات و اقتصاد آزادی» را میتوان اثری دانست که تلاش میکند گسست میان «ثروتآفرینی و معناآفرینی» را که نوعا مفاهیم معارض انگاشته میشوند پر کند، و بالطبع باب همنشینی نقادانه عوالم ماده و معنا را بگشاید و امکانهایی تازه برای گفتگوی فیلسوفانه میان اقتصاددانان، نویسندگان و هنرمندان، فراهم آورد.
600 pages, Paperback
First published November 28, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 20, 2022
2021-09-12 I finished this a few days ago. MARVELOUS BOOK.
For people into great literature who are open to seeing economic points of view.
For Marxists who are open to alternative views on Marxist analysis.
For economists who are open to great literature.
For those seeking a better understanding of how society actually works.
The authors are all literature professors, but who also know their economics very well, especially insights from the Austrian economics school of thought, very different from and much more realistic than mainstream economics, let alone Marxist, Keynesian or even Monetarist economics.
Every one of the essays was EXCELLENT, except the one on Walt Whitman, which left me unconvinced of the author's thesis or even his understanding of Austrian economics, in particular, the insights of Mises. His thesis dealt primarily with Hayek's Spontaneous Order idea, which is OK, but the lack of rigor or even import of this idea within Whitman's one work that was cited, let alone his most famous work, Leaves of Grass, left me cold.
But if any of the following works are of interest to you, DON'T miss this book:
Cervantes' Don Quixote
Ben Jonson's Bartholomew Fair (as well as other works by Jonson!)
Percy Shelly
HG Wells' Invisible Man (as well as some of his other works and general philosophy/goals)
Willa Cather's O Pioneers (as well as some of her other works)
Joseph Conrad
Ben Okri
Fantastic stuff.
I hope to add some quotations later to give you a better flavor for this great book.
For people into great literature who are open to seeing economic points of view.
For Marxists who are open to alternative views on Marxist analysis.
For economists who are open to great literature.
For those seeking a better understanding of how society actually works.
The authors are all literature professors, but who also know their economics very well, especially insights from the Austrian economics school of thought, very different from and much more realistic than mainstream economics, let alone Marxist, Keynesian or even Monetarist economics.
Every one of the essays was EXCELLENT, except the one on Walt Whitman, which left me unconvinced of the author's thesis or even his understanding of Austrian economics, in particular, the insights of Mises. His thesis dealt primarily with Hayek's Spontaneous Order idea, which is OK, but the lack of rigor or even import of this idea within Whitman's one work that was cited, let alone his most famous work, Leaves of Grass, left me cold.
But if any of the following works are of interest to you, DON'T miss this book:
Cervantes' Don Quixote
Ben Jonson's Bartholomew Fair (as well as other works by Jonson!)
Percy Shelly
HG Wells' Invisible Man (as well as some of his other works and general philosophy/goals)
Willa Cather's O Pioneers (as well as some of her other works)
Joseph Conrad
Ben Okri
Fantastic stuff.
I hope to add some quotations later to give you a better flavor for this great book.
November 17, 2021
با اینکه خیلی از آثاری که نویسنده به بررسی اون ها پرداخته بود رو نخونده بودم ولی بازم کتاب خوبی بود و نقدهایی که نویسنده به سوسیالیسم میکرد قابل تامل بود
September 21, 2020
Definitely worth reading. The way the authors break down literature is so refreshing!
October 23, 2012
An excellent, excellent collection of essays representing a first assault on Marxist literary orthodoxy, Literature and the Economics of Liberty examines how economics suffuses great works of literature that are not often thought of as economic, and also presents compelling, radical reinterpretations of texts that were considered Marxist-leaning in the past. The free market perspective is refreshing and, in a few cases, downright invigorating. The fact that it's all from the perspective of Austrian economics does no harm, as I don't think anarchism is mentioned even once in the book.
The first essay looks not within literature, but at literature itself, to demonstrate how the 19th century serial novel, a form that arose from the free operation of the marketplace, influenced and improved writers at a micro and a macro level, letting authors respond to their audiences before a work was complete, and letting some, including Dostoevsky and Tolstoy, attempt a new type of novel completely, one without any plan, which formed itself in the writing and, due to coming out in instalments, could not undo in a rewrite what was already done.
Other essays deal with Don Quixote, Willa Cather, Thomas Mann, and Ben Okri, and virtually every one of them inspired me to want to read the works they dealt with, or at least the authors. (Proof: I'm currently [re]reading Don Quixote, in spite of my personal dislike of picaresque tales. And O Pioneers! is in my queue.)
In short, though I wish there was more, or in some cases (like the first essay) a longer and more detailed account of the subject covered, I can't recommend this highly enough.
The first essay looks not within literature, but at literature itself, to demonstrate how the 19th century serial novel, a form that arose from the free operation of the marketplace, influenced and improved writers at a micro and a macro level, letting authors respond to their audiences before a work was complete, and letting some, including Dostoevsky and Tolstoy, attempt a new type of novel completely, one without any plan, which formed itself in the writing and, due to coming out in instalments, could not undo in a rewrite what was already done.
Other essays deal with Don Quixote, Willa Cather, Thomas Mann, and Ben Okri, and virtually every one of them inspired me to want to read the works they dealt with, or at least the authors. (Proof: I'm currently [re]reading Don Quixote, in spite of my personal dislike of picaresque tales. And O Pioneers! is in my queue.)
In short, though I wish there was more, or in some cases (like the first essay) a longer and more detailed account of the subject covered, I can't recommend this highly enough.
January 21, 2014
A fascinating series of essays all proposing an alternative economic analysis of literature to the traditional and hidebound Marxist critique so prevalent in academia today. They propose an analysis grounded in Austrian Economic theory. Austrian Economics with its focus on individual action is a perfect lens with which to dissect literature and the writer as an entrepreneurial force. Cantor, Cox and the other essayists do a beautiful job explaining various aspects of Austrian Economics theory and then applying it to masterworks by such disparate writers as Cervantes, Willa Cather, Joseph Conrad, Charles Dickens, H. G. Wells, Thomas Mann and others. Highly recommended to those interested in well written criticism and Austrian Economics.
November 25, 2014
Overall, a very interesting analysis of literary works that either emphasize motifs of economic freedom, or which (in the essayists opinions) fail to shunt them. Although I have not read many of the works covered in this collection, the authors did a good job of elucidating how they fit in with this sort of economic analysis. I came out of this book realizing I need to read more Ben Jonson, Willa Cather and Joseph Conrad. A dash of Thomas Mann probably wouldn't hurt, either.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews