Was Shakespeare an economic thinker?

Douglas Bruster

A chapter in Research in the History of Economic Thought and Methodology, 2006, pp 167-180 from Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Abstract: Was Shakespeare an economic thinker? To Karl Marx, who freely quoted the playwright in confirmation of various assertions inCapital, at least Shakespeare'scharacterswere. Prior to claiming that money is a “radical leveler…[that] does away with all distinctions” (Marx 1967, I, p. 132), for instance, Marx famously cites Timon's diatribe on gold fromTimon of Athens(1607):Gold, yellow, glittering, precious gold!Thus much of this, will make black white; foul, fair;Wrong, right; base, noble; old, young; coward, valiant.… What this, you gods? Why, thisWill lug your priests and servants from your sides;Pluck stout men's pillows from below their heads;This yellow slaveWill knit and break religions; bless the accurs’d;Make the hoar leprosy ador’d; place thieves,And give them title, knee and approbation,With senators on the bench; this is it,That makes the wappen’d widow wed again:…Come damned earth,[Thou] common whore of mankind.

Date: 2006
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:rhetzz:s0743-4154(06)24010-0

DOI: 10.1016/S0743-4154(06)24010-0

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