Author Description

Systems of Survival: A Dialogue on the Moral Foundations of Commerce and Politics moves outside of the Jane Jacobs' preferred subject: the city, by studying the moral underpinnings of work. Using an observational approach and written as a Platonic dialogue, Jacobs begins by examining a collection of newspaper stories about moral judgements related to work. Sorting them reveals them fitting into one of two patterns of moral behavior that were mutually exclusive. She calls these two patterns commercial moral syndrome and guardian moral syndrome. The commercial moral syndrome is applicable to business owners, scientists, farmers, and traders, while the guardian moral syndrome is applicable to government, charities, hunter-gatherers, and religious institutions. These Moral Syndromes are fixed, and do not fluctuate over time. It is important to stress that Jane Jacobs is providing a theory about the morality of work, and not all moral ideas. Moral ideas that are not included in her syndrome are applicable to both syndromes.