We’re reading Ishmael in the context of a business ethics class and are therefore searching for some implications the book has on business. My question: what might business/economy look like in a Leaver society?

This a fascinating question, to which the overriding answer must be: There is no one right way for people to live. Just as there is no one right way for birds to build a nest or for spiders to weave a web, there is no one right way for people to “make a living.”

A study of the anthropological literature would probably reveal hundreds or even thousands of models pursued by Leaver peoples of the world.

ID: 60
Posted: 08 Feb 1997