The Ancient Economy
Author	M.I. Finley
Series	Sather Classical Lectures; Vol. 43
Publisher	University of California Press
Publication date	1973
Media type	Print (hardcover and paperback)
Pages	222
ISBN	0-520-02436-2
OCLC Number	765341
Dewey Decimal	330.938 21
LC Classification	HC31 .F5

The Ancient Economy is a book about the economic system of classical antiquity written by the classicist Moses I. Finley. It was originally published in 1973. Finley interprets the economy from 1000BC to 500AD sociologically, instead of using economic models (such as Rostovtzeff did). He attempted to prove that the ancient economy was largely a byproduct of status. In other words, economic systems were not interdependent, they were embedded in status positions. The analysis owes debt to sociologist such as Max Weber and Karl Polanyi.

The book has had such an impact on classical scholarship that the views brought forward in The Ancient Economy has been labeled "the Finley/Polanyi orthodox"^[1] Finley covers both ancient economic thought, wealth, the role of the state, slavery as well as the tax system. "Indeed, no individual writer (...) has attempted a comprehensive economic overview of the entire classical world since Finley, though period specific, regional or thematic work has abounded." ^[2]

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Silver, Morris. "Review of The Ancient Economy, edited by Walter Scheidel and Sitta von Reden", Economic History Services, January 3, 2003.
2. ^ Greene, Kevin. "Technological Innovation and Economic Progress in the Ancient World: M.I. Finley Re-Considered", Economic History Review, Vol. 53, No. 1. (2000), p. 32.

[edit] Further reading

• Morris, Ian. "The Athenian Economy Twenty Years After The Ancient Economy", Classical Philology, Vol. 89. (1994), pp. 351–366.
• Morris, Ian. "Foreword [to the updated edition]", The Ancient Economy by Moses I. Finley. Berkeley; Los Angeles; London: University of California Press, 1999 (paperback, ISBN 0-520-21946-5), pp. ix–xxxvi.
• Derks, Hans, The "Ancient Economy": the problem and the fraud, in: The European Legacy, 7 (2002), p. 701-735.

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