Money and Magic: A Critique of the Modern Economy in the Light of Goethe's Faust [Hardcover]

Hans Christoph Binswanger (Author), J. E. Harrison (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 1994

Although Faust is widely celebrated as a literary classic, few readers have appreciated its penetrating insights into the enduring social problems of the modern economy. Hans Christoph Binswanger looks at Faust through the lens of economics and enlarges our understanding of this epic by explaining Goethe's preoccupation with financial matters. Money and Magic interprets Faust as a warning about the dangers of pursuing endless wealth. It will be a valuable resource for Germanic and Goethe scholars, social and cultural historians, and economists alike.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press (August 15, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226051854
• ISBN-13: 978-0226051857
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,085,507 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The alchemical process is alive and well, February 23, 2000

By 

Ralph Bentley - See all my reviews

This review is from: Money and Magic: A Critique of the Modern Economy in the Light of Goethe's Faust (Hardcover)

Towards the end of the middle ages, monarchs and kings came to the realization that the transmutation of elements may not be physically possible. The creation of wealth via alchemical means therefore shifted to another sphere. Rather than employ chemists laboring to create gold from lead, rulers instead hired economists to create gold from paper. The symbolism and metaphor of the alchemical process carried over from chemical to economic terms is really quite enlightening.

The relationship to the Faust legend and the role of Goethe in the development of the early modern economy makes this book a very interesting read for anyone who may be baffled by the current system of value creation in our modern economy.

The real insight of this book lies in its illumination of humankind's quest to gain mastery over time and our own mortality. Here the author demonstrates how science is used to gain predictive control over time by use of the past (the evidence of scientific method). Economics is used to master time via control over the future (money as "value" stored for future use). And the arts overcome the constraints of time by stretching out the present (the transporting nature of the sublime). The alchemical means by which this is accomplished is demonstrated clearly. Magic turns out to be very real indeed.