John Ruskin 1819 - 1900 British Artist, Scientist, Poet, Environmentalist, Philosopher The leading art critic of Victorian England Wrote and thought as early environmentalist Published Unto this Last as a series until public protest called a halt

Ruskin Themes Include Political vs. Mercantile Economy Definition of Money - value and virtue of money Scarcity vs. Abundance Mentality Relationship between Rich and Poor Wealth is power over people Healthy, happy educated people are real wealth Economy: circulation of wealth like blood in body

Ralph Waldo Emerson 1803 - 1882 American essayist, poet, and leader of Transcendentalism movement Graduate of Harvard Divinity School - seven ancestors were ministers Great champion of the individual and self-reliance

Emerson - Themes Need for all men to be producers – contribute to society Man is born to be rich But not all will succeed Poverty demoralizes – a man in debt is so far a slave The basis of wealth is the application of mind to nature - wealth comes to those who seize opportunities “The craft of the merchant is this bringing of goods from where they abound to where they are costly” Wealth has its own system of checks and balances Matter pays her debt The basis of political economy is non-interference

Measures of Economy Each man’s expense must proceed from his character – “as long as your genius buys, the investment is safe…” Spend after your genius, and by system – “the secret of success lies…in the relation of income to outgo” Help comes in the custom of the country, and the rule of Impera Parendo - “Things themselves refuse to be mismanaged” Look for seed of the same kind as you sow – story of Furlong and Hotspur All things ascend + absorb and invest