Political Economy

by Mark Twain

What if a story by Mark Twain about political economy had nothing to do with politics or economy? This humorous short story has everything to do with the interruptions by a workman the author faced when trying to pen thoughts on politics. There were many reasons Twain frustratingly agreed to something he never would have asked for, but the result were - shocking.

Genres: Short Stories, Humor

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1870

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Faulkner calling him "the father of American literature." His novels include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), with the latter often called the "Great American Novel." Twain also wrote A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889) and Pudd'nhead Wilson (1894), and co-wrote The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today (1873) with Charles Dudley Warner.

Reviews

[Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. A comical reason to pay attention to the work you’re hiring out instead of being absorbed in a book!

[Hákon Gunnarsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the name one could expect a theoretical essay on, eh well political economy, and that is what the narrator is trying to work on while being interrupted by a pushy lightning rod salesman. In order to be able to get on with his important work the narrator buys lightning rods for his house. From there on, things get complicated, expensive, and electrified. Obviously this is not a dry analysis of political economy. It is a comic piece.

The more I read of Mark Twin's comic short stories the more I like him. He was a good writer who wrote some very famous, and good novels, like The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but I think I like his short comic stories better. He has such a good way of building up his gags. In this one I could see where it was all heading from a mile off, but it was still very funny when it came.

I think it is a story that is impossible not to laugh at, so it will go on my re readable list.

[Stephen Mullins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hysterical story, you should definitely read.
Also best if read out loud with family and/or friends(if you have the breath from laughing left to actually read aloud)

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Political Economy” reads like Mark Twain at his most subversive—pretending to instruct while systematically dismantling the instruction itself. Reading it, I felt Twain laughing not at ignorance, but at the pretensions of expertise.

What struck me was how he exposes economic theory as a kind of moral theatre. The language of inevitability—markets, laws, principles—conceals human choices and human costs. Twain strips away that abstraction with deliberate simplicity.

Reading this, I became aware of how often complexity functions as authority. Twain refuses that authority. He asks naïve questions and follows them to their uncomfortable conclusions. The result is not clarity, but exposure.

The humor lies in Twain’s patience. He does not argue; he demonstrates. The logic collapses under its own weight. What remains is not an alternative theory, but skepticism toward grand explanatory systems.

What lingered was the story’s relevance. Twain anticipates modern distrust of economic rationalizations that excuse inequality. His mockery feels less playful than corrective.

“Political Economy” stayed with me because it insists that moral reasoning cannot be outsourced to formulas. Understanding, Twain suggests, requires responsibility—not just calculation.

Recommended.

[Gr1972 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 out of 5

[Squire Whitney: Hufflepuff Book Reviwer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Political Economy makes for a mildly fun little Mark Twain short story, but I feel like there are more thematic connections in it than I have managed to pick up on.

[Mike Lisanke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twain is so wonderfully sarcastic. I love his attempt to work while constantly being bother by a salesman trying to milk the job of putting up lightening rods.

[Forked Radish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vaguely reminiscent of Hawthorne's "The Lightning-Rod Man". 😉

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

All the economic theories in the world will not produce common sense. Kristi & Abby Tabby

[Jennifer (JenIsNotaBookSnob) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A ridiculous short story by Mark Twain of a man trying to write about political economy and being regularly interrupted by a man selling lightning rods. The writer has a large number installed and the outcome is amusing.