Resurrection (1899)
By Leo Tolstoy
This late 19th-century novel about nobleman Dmitri Ivanovich Nekhlyudov’s efforts at redemption after a life of sin is Tolstoy’s last major novel before his death in 1910. The readers will have a complex relationship with the tormented protagonist and his desperate attempts at redemption and forgiveness, since Nekhlyudov’s misguided decisions and youthful errors are often not so dissimilar from our own. Resurrection is a scathing exposition of the myriad prejudices of the man-made justice system and the hypocrisy of the establishment, while it also explores the economic philosophy of Georgism – of which Tolstoy had become a strong advocate toward the end of his life. [from the Culture Trip]
Political Economy Book Club discussions are open to everyone interested, without charge, and the text (in English translation) is available free from various sources including archive.org, who also offer a free audiobook. There is also a more recent translation by Anthony Briggs, which can be purchased or licensed in various formats and is available in some public libraries. Any questions about the PEBC may be directed to Convenor Bob Matter,
Metropolitan Planning Council’s Alden Loury will discuss his research into the costs that racial and ethnic segregation impose on all of us here, and might be persuaded to hint at the recommendations to come from phase 2 of the study. We have a post with a bit more information.
ProPublica Illinois investigative reporter Jason Grotto (formerly with the Chicago Tribune) has produced several major research stories about problems with real estate assessments in Cook County, as well as with the Assessor’s office itself. He’ll join us to talk about how and why he undertook this work, what’s wrong with the Assessor’s office and how it could be repaired, how the property tax would function if it were competently administered, and, if we’re lucky, how the tax could be restructured to improve fairness and better fund public services while promoting economic opportunity.
Join us to learn about some of the practical difficulties in bringing competence and efficiency to the administration of what could be a very fair tax.
PREREGISTRATION MANDATORY: Due to building policies you must pre-register by email or or by phoning us at 312 450-2906
Decades before Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith wrote what he seems to have considered a superior work, Theory of Moral Sentiments. He wrote:
How selfish soever man may be supposed, there are evidently some principles in his nature, which interest him in the fortune of others, and render their happiness necessary to him, though he derives nothing from it except the pleasure of seeing it.
Wikipedia asserts:
Smith critically examines the moral thinking of his time, and suggests that conscience arises from dynamic and interactive social relationships through which people seek “mutual sympathy of sentiments.”[74] His goal in writing the work was to explain the source of mankind’s ability to form moral judgement, given that people begin life with no moral sentiments at all. Smith proposes a theory of sympathy, in which the act of observing others and seeing the judgements they form of both others and oneself makes people aware of themselves and how others perceive their behaviour.
The Theory of Moral Sentiments has been printed in numerous editions, and is also available free on line. Smith revised the book throughout his lifetime; it’s best to avoid the first edition, and choose one published after his death in 1790.
In this session we’ll discuss parts 1-3 of the book, taking up parts 4-7 on November 20,
This is the second and concluding session for this book, covering parts 4-7.