Systems of Survival
A Dialogue on the Moral Foundations of Commerce and Politics

In this slim and readable volume, Jacobs articulates the two moral systems humans have evolved over the centuries: that of traders (commerce), and that of guardians (government). Once stated, they seem so obvious, but failure to recognize the differences results in serious chaos. This book was a big......more

This book is fantastic but everyone forgets to read the sequel, The Nature of Economies. Don't be like them. Read The Nature of Economies too.......more

This is a profoundly important book! Jacob's observation that a failure to understand that there is a difference in moral character required between those who are guardians of a society and those who are its entrepreneurs is important and pertinent. She argues that a society will fail if it allows i......more

if you're a hard-nosed literary critic it's going to be really hard for you to get past the central conceit of this sociology book-- it's written as a dialogue, with characters and a bare minimum of plot-- and while it's also written by one of the greatest urbanists and essayists to ever walk the pl......more

I was really looking forward to this as my first Jane Jacobs book, but I was disappointed. I found the faux-Socratic dialogue jarring and not believable, and the system they put together was at least lacking one element: survival-by-community. Our instincts for fostering social relationships would n......more