Fantasy, Irony, and Economic Justice in Aristophanes'AssemblywomenandWealth

Bibliographic Data

ID3575458
AuthorsJohn Zumbrunnen (Union College, corresponding author)
Year2006
Volume100
Issue3
Pages319-333
Publication date2006-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Political Science Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0003-0554 • E-ISSN: 1537-5943
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0003055406062216
OpenAlexW2009698385
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited57

In his final two surviving plays,AssemblywomenandWealth, Aristophanes turns his comic art toward a consideration of the possibilities of radical economic change. His presentation of those possibilities has been read as either indulging in fantasy or as ironically reinforcing the economic status quo. This essay argues that the two plays in fact work to instill in their audience a complex and challenging sensibility that holds fantasy and irony in tension with one another. Drawing on recent arguments about the relationship and relative priority of economic redistribution and cultural recognition as political goals, I suggest that this sensibility provides an attractive model for theorists and ordinary citizens alike as they grapple with issues of economic and social justice

Aesthetics · Art · Comics · Economic Justice · Fantasy · Irony · Literature · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Presentation (obstetrics · Redistribution (election · Sensibility · Sociology · Status quo · Classical Antiquity Studies · Law · Religion and Society Interactions · Weber, Simmel, Sociological Theory

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