Oikonomia Redefined

Abstract

The paper argues that oikonomia was defined by the ancient Greek philosophers as a sphere in which man, when faced with excessive means, acquires a theoretical and practical prudent disposition in order to comply with his needs and so as to generate a man-made surplus that is to be found outside economy’s boundaries. In order to extricate this meaning, I focus on how the following categories are presented in ancient texts dedicated to the study of the oikonomia in its meaning of household management: i) oikonomia’s form of knowledge; ii) the essence of wealth and its end; and iii) the origin of the excess that appears in the economic sphere.

Political-Theological Source of the “State of Exception”: Re-Reading Sovereignty Within the Divine Oikonomia

“…Oikonomia is, therefore, a logic of organizing, sorting and associating things within the scope of the political order. That is why the oikonomia is not a single economical paradigm which is reduced to the science of a rational calculating of the present data (Leshem 2013). Rather, oikonomia is the episteme of a governance that can have the capacity to calculate the potentialities of the future, and, so, oikonomia is the ability to foresee the gap between the present and possible form of the future.…”

On subjective well‐being and excess strategy to cope with financial‐scarcity problem

“…This is rather than by exerting efforts at increasing their pecuniary means. In ancient Greek perspective, oikonomia and economic rationality are fundamental concepts (Leshem, 2013(Leshem, , 2016. Such a reduction is required because scarcity was not part of ancient Greek economic thought (Leshem, 2013(Leshem, , 2016Polanyi, 1968).…”

“…Such a reduction is required because scarcity was not part of ancient Greek economic thought (Leshem, 2013(Leshem, , 2016Polanyi, 1968). Instead, philosophers such as Aristotle and Epicurus saw nature as potentially capable of satisfying all human needs if economized rationally (Leshem, 2013(Leshem, , 2016. Hence, the issue is not wealth but rather how to live a good life.…”

Plato and Xenophon

“…I shall do so on systematic terms, without making any claims as to chronology or the precise relation between Plato and Xenophon.3 The discussion will proceed in three steps. First, I will briefly sketch the outlines of both Xenophon's and Plato's attitude toward riches, wealth, possessions, and money (Section 2) and articulate the systematic differences between the two (Section 3; for more elaborate treatment, see Leshem 2013, Figueira 2012, Desmond 2006, Perrotta 2004, Danzig 2003, Danzig & Schaps 2001, Lowry 1987, Trever 1916). Next, the economic ideas underlying Plato's rejection of feetaking will be discussed (Section 4) and Xenophon's monetary theory behind his rejection of fee-taking will be scrutinized (Section 5).…”