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  • Title: Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice
  • Author: Stephen Leacock
  • Narrator: Unknown
  • Length: 02:25:00
  • Version: Abridged
  • Release Date: 01/01/2011
  • Publisher: Books Should Be Free
  • Genre: Business & Economics, Economics
  • ISBN13: SABFAB9780897

Dear intellectually curious listeners,

As I settled into my favorite armchair with a cup of oolong tea, the opening lines of Stephen Leacock’s “Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice” transported me back to my graduate seminar at Berkeley where we debated the very same tensions between individualism and collectivism. This audiobook version of Leacock’s 1920 political essay offers a surprisingly contemporary meditation on economic justice that resonates powerfully in our current era of wealth inequality and political polarization.

What fascinates me most is how Leacock’s ‘middle way’ philosophy anticipates modern welfare capitalism. His critique of laissez-faire capitalism’s excesses reminds me of teaching Murakami’s “1Q84” in Tokyo – how both authors, across different centuries and cultures, expose systems that grind individuals into conformity. The narrator’s measured pace allows complex economic concepts to unfold with remarkable clarity, though I occasionally wished for more vocal variation during dense theoretical passages.

Through a cultural lens, Leacock’s Canadian perspective offers refreshing nuance to the typically American-dominated discourse on economic justice. His advocacy for progressive taxation and social insurance predates Keynes by nearly a decade, yet remains accessible enough for commuters listening between subway stops. The audio quality is clean though unremarkable – serviceable for a free production, but lacking the polish of commercial audiobooks.

This reminds me of when my students compared different media formats for “Cloud Atlas” – how certain texts gain new dimensions through audio. Leacock’s dry wit shines particularly well in spoken form, with his humorous asides about ‘the man who has ten dollars when everyone else has nine’ landing perfectly. However, serious economics students might crave more detailed citations that are naturally sacrificed in audio format.

The work’s greatest strength lies in its prescient diagnosis of capitalism’s contradictions, though modern listeners may find his solutions somewhat tame by today’s standards. When contrasted with contemporaries like W.E.B. Du Bois, Leacock’s focus remains narrowly economic rather than intersectional – a limitation of his era that the narration doesn’t explicitly address but smart listeners will note.

For those new to economic theory, this serves as an excellent primer. Seasoned policy scholars will appreciate hearing historical foundations of debates we’re still having. The free availability makes this an exceptional value, though I’d recommend pairing it with more contemporary works for balance. As the final chapter faded, I found myself mentally drafting discussion questions for next semester’s ‘Literature of Economic Justice’ seminar – the highest compliment I can pay any audiobook.

In scholarly solidarity,
Prof. Emily Chen