The Ancient Economy (Sather Classical Lectures)

New
Paperback
1999
$41.03

Technical progress, economic growth, productivity, even efficiency have not been significant goals since the beginning of time, declares M. I. Finley in his classic work. The states of the ancient Mediterranean world had no recognizable real-property market, never fought a commercially inspired war, witnessed no drive to capital formation, and assigned the management of many substantial enterprises to slaves and ex-slaves. In short, to study the economies of the ancient world, one must begin by discarding many premises that seemed self-evident before Finley showed that they were useless or misleading. Available again, with a new foreword by Ian Morris, these sagacious, fertile, and occasionally combative essays are just as electrifying today as when Finley first wrote them.

Synopsis

Technical progress, economic growth, productivity, even efficiency have not been significant goals since the beginning of time, declares M. I. Finley in his classic work. The states of the ancient Mediterranean world had no recognizable real-property market, never fought a commercially inspired war, witnessed no drive to capital formation, and assigned the management of many substantial enterprises to slaves and ex-slaves. In short, to study the economies of the ancient world, one must begin by discarding many premises that seemed self-evident before Finley showed that they were useless or misleading. Available again, with a new foreword by Ian Morris, these sagacious, fertile, and occasionally combative essays are just as electrifying today as when Finley first wrote them.

$41.03

Quantity

20+ in stock

More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 298
Edition: New Ed
Publisher: University of California Press
Published: 19 Mar 1999
ISBN 10: 0520219465
ISBN 13: 9780520219465

Media Reviews

A splendid contribution to the economic history of classical antiquity. It compels the reader to recognize the depth of the transformation from the ancient consumer economy based on slave and serf labor to the modern capitalist, investment, production, profit economy. --Floyd Sewer Lear, Business History Review

Author Bio

M. I. Finley, who died in 1986, was Professor of Ancient History and Master of Darwin College at Cambridge University. Ian Morris is the Jean and Rebecca Willard Professor in Classics and Chair of the Classics Department at Stanford University.