Unto This Last
Encyclopedia
Unto This Last is an essay on economy
by John Ruskin
, first published in December 1860 in the monthly journal Cornhill Magazine
in four articles. Ruskin says himself that these articles were "very violently criticized", forcing the publisher to stop the publication after four months. Subscribers sent protest letters. But Ruskin countered the attack and published the four articles in a book in May 1862.
The title is a quotation from the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
. Ruskin looks at the social and economic implications of the parable, discussing issues such as who should receive a living wage
. This essay is very critical of capitalist
economists of the 18th and 19th century. In this sense, Ruskin is a precursor of social economy
. Because the essay also attacks the destructive effects of industrialism upon the natural world,
some historians have seen it as anticipating the Green Movement
.
. Polak was chief editor of the Johannesburg
paper The Critic. Gandhi decided immediately not only to change his own life according to Ruskin's teaching, but also to publish his own newspaper, Indian Opinion, in a farm where everybody would get the same salary, without distinction of function, race or nationality, which for that time, was quite revolutionary. Thus Gandhi created Phoenix Settlement.
Gandhi translated Unto This Last into Gujarati
in 1908 under the title of Sarvodaya
("well being of all"). Valji Govindji Desai translated it back to English in 1951 under the title of Unto This Last: A Paraphrase. This last essay can be considered his program on economics, as in Unto This Last, Gandhi found an important part of his social and economic ideas.
Economy
An economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area; the labor, capital and land resources; and the manufacturing, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area...
by John Ruskin
John Ruskin
John Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...
, first published in December 1860 in the monthly journal Cornhill Magazine
Cornhill Magazine
The Cornhill Magazine was a Victorian magazine and literary journal named after Cornhill Street in London.Cornhill was founded by George Murray Smith in 1860 and was published until 1975. It was a literary journal with a selection of articles on diverse subjects and serialisations of new novels...
in four articles. Ruskin says himself that these articles were "very violently criticized", forcing the publisher to stop the publication after four months. Subscribers sent protest letters. But Ruskin countered the attack and published the four articles in a book in May 1862.
The title is a quotation from the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard is a parable of Jesus which appears in only one of the Canonical gospels of the New Testament....
. Ruskin looks at the social and economic implications of the parable, discussing issues such as who should receive a living wage
Living wage
In public policy, a living wage is the minimum hourly income necessary for a worker to meet basic needs . These needs include shelter and other incidentals such as clothing and nutrition...
. This essay is very critical of capitalist
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
economists of the 18th and 19th century. In this sense, Ruskin is a precursor of social economy
Social economy
Social economy refers to a third sector in economies between the private sector and business or, the public sector and government. It includes organisations such as cooperatives, non-governmental organisations and charities....
. Because the essay also attacks the destructive effects of industrialism upon the natural world,
some historians have seen it as anticipating the Green Movement
Green politics
Green politics is a political ideology that aims for the creation of an ecologically sustainable society rooted in environmentalism, social liberalism, and grassroots democracy...
.
Gandhi's paraphrase
Unto This Last had a very important impact on Gandhi's philosophy. He discovered the book in March 1904 through Henry Polak, whom he had met in a vegetarian restaurant in South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. Polak was chief editor of the Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
paper The Critic. Gandhi decided immediately not only to change his own life according to Ruskin's teaching, but also to publish his own newspaper, Indian Opinion, in a farm where everybody would get the same salary, without distinction of function, race or nationality, which for that time, was quite revolutionary. Thus Gandhi created Phoenix Settlement.
Gandhi translated Unto This Last into Gujarati
Gujarati language
Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...
in 1908 under the title of Sarvodaya
Sarvodaya
Sarvodaya is a term meaning 'universal uplift' or 'progress of all'. The term was first coined by Mahatma Gandhi as the title of his 1908 translation of John Ruskin's tract on political economy, Unto This Last, and Gandhi came to use the term for the ideal of his own political philosophy...
("well being of all"). Valji Govindji Desai translated it back to English in 1951 under the title of Unto This Last: A Paraphrase. This last essay can be considered his program on economics, as in Unto This Last, Gandhi found an important part of his social and economic ideas.