Synopsis
2013 Reprint of 1920 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. "The Acquisitive Society" stands out as Tawney's most influential work of social criticism. One of his most widely read books, it criticized the selfish individualism of modern society. Capitalism, he insisted, encourages acquisitiveness and thereby corrupts everyone. The work reflected Tawney's Christian moral values, and exercised a profound influence in Britain and abroad, anticipating the Welfare state.
Présentation de l'éditeur
It is a commonplace that the characteristic virtue of Englishmen is their power of sustained practical activity, and their characteristic vice a reluctance to test the quality of that activity by reference to principles. They are incurious as to theory, take fundamentals for granted, and are more interested in the state of the roads than in their place on the map. And it might fairly be argued that in ordinary times that combination of intellectual tameness with practical energy is sufficiently serviceable to explain, if not to justify, the equanimity with which its possessors bear the criticism of more mentally adventurous nations. It is the mood of those who have made their bargain with fate and are content to take what it offers without re-opening the deal. It leaves the mind free to concentrate undisturbed upon profitable activities, because it is not distracted by a taste for unprofitable speculations. Most generations, it might be said, walk in a path which they neither make, nor discover, but accept; the main thing is that they should march.
(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.)
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