Madness and Enterprise, Psychiatry, Economic Reason, and the Emergence of Pathological Value

Nima Bassiri's "Madness and Enterprise" explores the intricate relationship between psychiatry and economic thought in the 19th-century North Atlantic world.

The book reveals how psychiatric evaluations of mental illness became intertwined with economic considerations, assigning financial and moral value to various pathological conditions.

Bassiri demonstrates how some disorders were viewed as assets, while others were deemed liabilities, influencing diagnoses and societal perceptions.

This economic lens transformed the very concept of value, blurring the lines between moral, medical, and economic worth.

The book ultimately challenges our understanding of how economic reasoning has shaped our conceptions of mental health and illness.