Power, Pleasure, and Profit

By David Wootton,

Book cover of Power, Pleasure, and Profit: Insatiable Appetites from Machiavelli to Madison

Book description

A provocative history of the changing values that have given rise to our present discontents.

We pursue power, pleasure, and profit. We want as much as we can get, and we deploy instrumental reasoning-cost-benefit analysis-to get it. We judge ourselves and others by how well we succeed. It is a…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Power, Pleasure, and Profit as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This is an original view of the Enlightenment by one of the most exciting of its current historians. The Enlightenment urged people to think for themselves; intellectual authority resided ultimately within the individual. It valued the emotions as highly as reason; emotions included what philosophers called ‘the passions’, not just sympathy with others, but individual desires and appetites. The Enlightenment was also a period of increasing material prosperity, in which some thinkers still praised the virtue of frugality, while others pointed out that luxury and self-indulgence were necessary to drive the modern economy. These arguments, displayed here with energy and…

From Ritchie's list on the Enlightenment.

If you love Power, Pleasure, and Profit...

Ad

Book cover of The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever

The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier,

The coaching book that's for all of us, not just coaches.

It's the best-selling book on coaching this century, with 15k+ online reviews. Brené Brown calls it "a classic". Dan Pink said it was "essential".

It is practical, funny, and short, and "unweirds" coaching. Whether you're a parent, a teacher,…

Want books like Power, Pleasure, and Profit?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Power, Pleasure, and Profit.

Browse books like Power, Pleasure, and Profit

Book cover of Capital of the Mind: How Edinburgh Changed the World
Book cover of Enlightenment: Britain and the Creation of the Modern World
Book cover of Light in Germany: Scenes from an Unknown Enlightenment

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,799

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

📚 If you like Power, Pleasure, and Profit, you might also like...

Book cover of Grand Old Unraveling: The Republican Party, Donald Trump, and the Rise of Authoritarianism

Grand Old Unraveling by John Kenneth White,

It didn’t begin with Donald Trump. When the Republican Party lost five straight presidential elections during the 1930s and 1940s, three things happened: (1) Republicans came to believe that presidential elections are rigged; (2) Conspiracy theories arose and were believed; and (3) The presidency was elevated to cult-like status.

Long…

Book cover of Uniting the States of America: A Self-Care Plan for a Wounded Nation

Uniting the States of America by Lyle Greenfield,

We’ve all experienced the overwhelming level of political and social divisiveness in our country. This invisible “virus” of negativity is, in part, the result of the name-calling and heated rhetoric that has become commonplace among commentators and elected leaders alike. 

My book provides a clear perspective on the historical and…

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in the Age of Enlightenment, life satisfaction, and personal values?

Life Satisfaction 228 books
Personal Values 17 books