The Ancient Economy / Edition 1

by M. I. Finley, Ian Morris

Overview

"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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780520219465
Publisher:	University of California Press
Publication date:	03/01/1999
Series:	Sather Classical Lectures , #43
Edition description:	First Edition, Updated with a new foreword by Ian Morris
Pages:	298
Sales rank:	820,639
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

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.

Table of Contents

Foreword to Updated Edition by Ian Morris
Preface
Some Dates for Orientation
Map: The Roman Empire in the Second
Century A.D.

I. The Ancients and Their Economy
II. Orders and Status
III. Masters and Slaves
IV. Landlords and Peasants
V. Town and Country
VI. The State and the Economy
VII. Further Thoughts (1984)

Abbreviations and Short Titles
Notes
Index