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GLOSSARY TERMS
Appreciation
Appreciable
Appreciate
Capacity
Environment
Environmental
feature
Influence
Influenceable
Jatalla
Plutonomics
Plutonomy
Precision
Bias
Wealth
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The term
"plutonomics" apparently made its debut in the
English language back in the 1850's. The root of
plut- comes from the Greek word for "wealth",
evoking an alternate name, Pluto, for the Greek god
of the underworld and "giver of wealth", Hades. The
-nomics ending means "management", as is used in
words such as "economics," such that plutonomics
can be taken literally to mean "wealth management".
The word still retains its literal meaning in
English and is used as such in Plutonomics: A
Unified Theory of Wealth.
The 1902 book by
Frederic Harrison (no relation to S. E. Harrison)
about social critic John Ruskin, entitled John
Ruskin, uses the term "plutonomic" during a
discussion of--though not referring to--Ruskin's
opposition to the economic theories of the day.
Ruskin's point of view, meanwhile, may be seen in
ways as a precursor to modern plutonomics, and S.
E. Harrison expressly quotes Ruskin in
Plutonomics.
If you find even
earlier uses of "plutonomics" or "plutonomy",
please contact us.
Regarding the
ancient origins of the term, it should little
surprise us that Pluto, god of the underworld,
would have evolved into a "giver of wealth" role,
although at least some sources identify Plutus, god
of wealth, as being a minor god who was distinct
from Pluto, brother of Zeus/Jupiter. Nonetheless,
the concepts of wealth and Earth were then and
still are inextricably linked: not only do the
traditional symbols for wealth---from gold to
diamonds---come from the Earth, but the things we
need for survival---like nutrition and
oxygen---come from the Earth and the organisms it
nourishes.
See,
generally, Plutonomics:
A Unified Theory of
Wealth
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