The Market and the Oikos

Book excerpt: Probably the most fundamental relationship in human history is that of the Market versus the Oikos (= the authoritarian ruled house, family, household or the State). Its main features and elements are analysed and newly defined as are its relations with town–country antagonisms or capitalism, nation, race, religion, and so on. Because it concerns a rather universal relationship, the definitions of the relevant elements are developed over time (from ancient Greeks to Nazi contexts) and place (in the West and the East, particularly China). Max Weber is chosen as our “sparring partner,” starting with his popular analysis of the relationship of capitalism and religion in the West and of Chinese society in the East