Prompted by the 'linguistic turn' of the late 20th century, intellectual and conceptual historians continue to devote a great deal of attention to the study of concepts in history. This innovative and interdisciplinary volume builds on such scholarship by providing a new history of the term 'economy'.
Starting from the Greek idea of the law of the household, Luigi Alonzi traces the different meanings assumed by the word 'economy' during the middle ages and early modern era, highlighting the semantic richness of the word and its uses in various political and cultural contexts. Notably, there is a particular focus on the so-called Oeconomica literature, tracking the reception of works by Plato, Aristotle, the 'pseudo' Aristotle and Xenophon in the Italian and France Renaissance. This tradition was incredibly influential in civic humanism and in texts devoted to power and command and thus affected later debates on Natural Law and the development of new scientific disciplines in the 17th and 18th centuries. In exploring this, the analysis of the function of translations in the transmission and transformation of meanings becomes central.
'Economy' in European History shines much-needed light on an important challenge that many historians repeatedly face: the fact that words can, and do, change over time. It will thus be a vital resource for all scholars of early modern and European economic history.
Author(s): Luigi Alonzi
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 254
City: London
Cover
Half Title
Title
Copyright
Dedication
Contents
Preface: Words and concepts in history
Part I Oeconomica: From ancient times to the Middle Ages and Renaissance
1 The classical discourse of the Oeconomica
2 The Oeconomica from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance
Part II Household management and power to command
3 Oeconomy and politics in Italy
4 Oeconomy and politics in France
Part III Lexicography of Oeconomia and discourses upon the Scientia Oeconomica
5 Oeconomia: Dictionaries and encyclopaedias
6 Scientia Oeconomica and natural law
Part IV Semantic of economy: Order and administration
7 The adjective oeconomic: Economic prudence, economic order, economic commerce
8 The noun oeconomy: Economy of religion, economy of nature, animal economy
Part V The renaissance of the term ‘political economy’
9 Commerce, finance and the origins of political oeconomy
10 The new life of the term ‘political oeconomy’
Notes
Preface: Words and concepts in history
1 The classical discourse of the Oeconomica
2 The Oeconomica from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance
3 Oeconomy and politics in Italy
4 Oeconomy and politics in France
5 Oeconomia: Dictionaries and encyclopaedias
6 Scientia Oeconomica and natural law
7 The adjective oeconomic: Economic prudence, economic order, economic commerce
8 The noun oeconomy: Economy of religion, economy of nature, animal economy
9 Commerce, finance and the origins of political oeconomy
10 The new life of the term ‘political oeconomy’
Bibliography
Name index
