The Idea of Commercial Society in the Scottish Enlightenment

ISBN-13: 9780748645329 / Angielski / Twarda / 2013 / 216 str.

Christopher J. Berry

Opis

A definitive exposition of a key idea shaping the world we know today
The most arresting aspect of the Scottish Enlightenment is its conception of commercial society as a distinct and distinctive social formation. Christopher Berry explains why Enlightenment thinkers considered commercial society to be wealthier and freer than earlier forms, and charts the contemporary debates and tensions between Enlightenment thinkers that this idea raised.

Spis treści

Preface; Abbreviations; 1. Scotland, Improvement and Enlightenment; 2. Commerce, Stages and the Natural History of Society; 3. Prosperity and Poverty; 4. Markets, Law and Politics; 5. Liberty and the Virtues of Commerce; 6. The Dangers of Commerce; 7. The Idea of a Commercial Society; References; Index.