Tolstoy's interpretation of money and property

"Tolstoy's Interpretation of Money and Property" by Milivoy S. Stanoyevich is an exploration of Leo Tolstoy's challenging views on economics, suggesting that he saw money and ownership as instruments of societal control. Composed in the early 1900s, the book assesses Tolstoy's controversial stance that money fosters a modern type of servitude, maintaining disparities and allowing some to take advantage of others. Stanoyevich dissects Tolstoy's arguments against conventional economic ideas, particularly the idea that real prosperity comes from work, not from hoarding wealth or assets. The writing explores Tolstoy's view of property as a foundation for social problems, championing collective ownership as a fix for unfairness. Stanoyevich puts Tolstoy's ideas in historical context by comparing them to the philosophies of thinkers like Aristotle and Rousseau, while also pointing out the difficulties of applying Tolstoy's idealistic solutions to today's complicated economic systems.