What form did the portrayal of business owners, entrepreneurs, peasants, craftspeople and similar 'protagonists of production' take before it became the subject of negative assessments in the epoch of industrialization? Focusing on the European Enlightenment movement with a special emphasis on Spain, this volume sheds light on how both male and female figures working in production are represented by novels, plays, economic tracts and in the press. Literary scholars, historians, and economists analyse how those portrayals are related to the history of economic thought, 18th-century economic discourse, and enlightened Political Economy. With an epilogue by Deirdre McCloskey.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Jacques Ellul (1912-1994) was one of the world's last great polymaths and one of the most important Christian thinkers of his time, engaging the world with a simplicity, sincerity, courage, and passion that few have matched. However, Ellul is an often misunderstood thinker. As more than fifty books and over one thousand articles bear his name, embarking on a study of Ellul's thought can be daunting. This book provides an introduction to Ellul's life and work, analysing and assessing his thought across the most important themes of his scholarship. Readers will see that his remarkably broad field of vision, clarity of focus, and boldly prophetic voice make his work worth reading and considering, rereading and discussing. Jeffrey P. Greenman is Associate Dean of Biblical and Theological Studies and Professor of Christian Ethics at Wheaton College (IL). Read Mercer Schuchardt is Associate Professor of Communication at Wheaton College (IL). Noah J. Toly is Director of Urban Studies and Associate Professor of Politics and International Relations at Wheaton College (IL). ' "Understanding Jacques Ellul" ' is a useful introduction to the prolific author, who was a sociologist, historian, and a Christian. This book is the first to give equal weight to his secular and Christian views. Given Ellul's voluminous writings, the authors had to be selective, and their choice of topics is excellent. Richard Stivers, Professor of Sociology, Illinois State University. 'This revealing overview of Ellul's life and work enables us to grasp the underlying unity of his principal interests: communication and Christianity. . . . This balanced study will be of prime service to anyone who wishes to] understand Ellul's thought and insights. Eric McLuhan, author of 'Know Thyself: Action and Perception'.