Capitalism and Commerce in Imaginative Literature: Perspectives on Business from Novels and Plays.

AuthorBohanon, Cecil E.
PositionBook review

Capitalism and Commerce in Imaginative Literature:

Perspectives on Business from Novels and Plays

Edited by Edward Younkins

Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books, 2016.

Pp. xii, 465. $115 hardcover.

Capitalism and Commerce in Imaginative Literature is a collection of twenty- eight essays. Each examines an individual work of literature, an author, or a set of works from an economic or business perspective. Nine of the essays are penned by economics or business professors, twelve by other academics (mainly from the humanities), and seven by other professional intellectuals. The essays are presented in the approximate chronological order of the writings examined. They range from an essay on the work of the ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes (487-386 B.C.) to one on American novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby (1925) to one on contemporary African American playwright August Wilson's drama Radio Golf (2007). All the authors examined are European or American, and four of the essays focus on works by Ayn Rand.

Several years ago at a cocktail party at my home, an English professor approached a young assistant economics professor, Alex Tabarrok, and asked him if he or anyone else in the Ball State Economics Department taught Marxist economics. With little hesitation, Alex replied: "No, we let you folks in the English Department do that." A refreshing component of Capitalism and Commerce is that although Marx is not entirely absent from the discussions, most of the essayists use a neoclassical, new institutional, public-choice, or Austrian economic lens to frame their criticism. Yet the essays are generally free from dogmatism or overt politicization. Classical liberal scholars--both economists and noneconomists--will certainly enjoy reading these interesting and informative essays. It is fascinating to see how such a diverse body of literature can bring principles of economics and human liberty to life. Although the reader will understandably be attracted to essays on works of literature with which he or she is familiar, the essays do not generally require detailed knowledge of the work examined. I found my "must read" list expanded!

So why should scholars in the classical liberal tradition and especially economists of such bent be interested in critical essays about imaginative literature? Granted, most economists, like most university graduates, have had some exposure to Shakespeare, Steinbeck, and the like. Many economists presumably read...

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