The fascinating story of an important lottery that flourished in
France from 1757 to 1836 and its role in transforming our
understanding of the nature of risk. In the 1750s, at the urging of
famed adventurer Giacomo Casanova, the French state began to
embrace risk in adopting a new Loterie. The prize amounts paid
varied, depending on the number of tickets bought and the amount of
the bet, as determined by each individual bettor. The state could
lose money on any individual Loterie drawing while being
statistically guaranteed to come out on top in the long run. In
adopting this framework, the French state took on risk in a way no
other has, before or after. At each drawing the state was at risk
of losing a large amount; what is more, that risk was precisely
calculable, generally well understood, and yet taken on by the
state with little more than a mathematical theory to protect it.
Stephen M. Stigler follows the Loterie from its curious inception
through its hiatus during the French Revolution, its renewal and
expansion in 1797, and finally to its suppression in 1836,
examining throughout the wider question of how members of the
public came to trust in new financial technologies and believe in
their value. Drawing from an extensive collection of rare ephemera,
Stigler pieces together the Loterie's remarkable inner workings, as
well as its implications for the nature of risk and the role of
lotteries in social life over the period 1700-1950. Both a fun read
and fodder for many fields, Casanova's Lottery shines new light on
the conscious introduction of risk into the management of a
nation-state and the rationality of playing unfair games.
General
| Imprint: |
University of Chicago Press
|
| Country of origin: |
United States |
| Release date: |
September 2022 |
| Authors: |
Stephen M. Stigler
|
| Dimensions: |
229 x 152 x 18mm (L x W x T) |
| Format: |
Paperback
|
| Pages: |
240 |
| ISBN-13: |
978-0-226-82079-8 |
| Categories: |
Books >
Humanities >
History >
General
Books >
History >
General
|
| LSN: |
0-226-82079-3 |
| Barcode: |
9780226820798 |
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