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What Price Fame? By Tyler Cowen. Cambridge, Mass. and London: Harvard University Press, 2000. 248 pp. $22.00 (cloth).
When religious ethicists involved in social analysis discuss economic life concerns, we often turn to issues such as consumerism, globalization, and sustainability. Except for casual comments about the money made by rock stars and super athletes, the business of fame seldom gets mentioned. Now, however, Tyler Cowen has given us a very engaging economic and social analysis of the marketing of fame in America. His book makes clear that this subject deserves our attention.
A major theme in Cowen's analysis is that the marketing of fame leads to the separation of fame from merit. The most famous are not always the best because creativity and profitability are not always compatible. There are other ills also to consider. The...