Aprovocativeretellingoftheworkingsofself-interestincontemporarymarketsociety,whichclaimstheworldincreasinglybelongstopassionates,obsessives,andfanatics:thosewhodothingsfortheirownsake,ratherthanasmeanstootherends.Inourcapitalistmarketsociety,wehavecometoacceptthatthewaytogetaheadisthroughstrongwill,grit,andnakedambition.Thisbeliefhasserveduswell:ithascontributedtomakingouraffluentsocietiesaffluent.Butdoesthepremisestillhold?AsKrzysztofPelcarguesinBeyondSelf-Interest,thisdefaultassumptionnolongercapturesreality.Thereisalimittothereturnsofcalculation,planning,andresolve,andinagrowingnumberofsettings,thislimithasbeenreached.Thetrueidolsofmarketsociety,hecontends,arethosewhodisavowtheirself-interest,oratleastappeartodoso:eco-consciousentrepreneurs,mediamogulswithamission,andmodern-dayartisanscateringtoawell-educatedandevermoresociallyconsciouspopulationofconsumers.Increasingly,thosewhoprosperdosobyspurningprosperity,orbyconvincingothersthattheyareinsteadpursuingpurpose,passion,loveofcraft-anythingbuttheirownself-advancement.Thisistheparadoxofintention,anditisincreasinglydefiningourlives.PelctellsthestoryofthisparadoxfromitsunlikelyemergenceamongagroupofBritishthinkersintheearly19thcenturytoitsdevelopmentoverthenexttwocenturies,asitwassuccessivelypickedupbyphilosophers,novelists,socialscientists,and,ultimately,capitaliststhemselves.Allofwhomarrivedatacommonrealization:theappearanceofdisinterestpays,butonlyifitisbelievable-whichpresentstheself-interestedamonguswithatrickyproblem.Drawingonthreecenturiesofthoughtaboutcommercialsocietyandthepeoplelivinginit,thisrichlyresearchedaccountofthecyclesofcapitalismdoesnotnaivelysuggestthatweshouldrejectthemarket.Rather,itcallsonustotreateconomicgrowthoncemoreasitsearliesttheoristsdid:asaformidabletoolofhumandevelopment,insteadofanendinitself.
planning ECO INTEREST PLANNING and
