The Acquisitive Society

Such societies may be called Acquisitive Societies, because their whole tendency and interest and preoccupation is to promote the acquisition of wealth. The appeal of this conception… has laid the whole modern world under its spell. …It is an invitation to men to use the powers… without inquiring whether there is any principle by which their exercise should be limited. –R.H. Tawney, The Acquisitive Society (1920)

The Acquisitive Society (1920), one of R.H. Tawney’s most widely read books, is probably his most influential. In this book, he criticizes the selfish individualism of modern society and states that capitalism encourages acquisitiveness, which corrupts everyone, both rich and poor. Tawney describes how economic inequality and meaningless work are by-products of capitalism, something which is as relevant and thought provoking as it was a hundred years ago.