What Shall We Do?
Leo Tolstoy
Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt
A vivid description of wealth and poverty in Russia in Tolstoy's day, an inquiry into the root causes of economic inequality, and a vision of a more just way of living.
Tolstoy recounts his own disturbing encounters with extreme poverty in Moscow, his initial idea of making the problem disappear by generous financial contributions, and his subsequent realization that the problem of poverty was much more intractable than he had imagined. He concludes that poverty is fundamentally linked with the luxurious lifestyle to which he and his class were accustomed, and that both are detrimental both to the rich and to the poor. He goes on to investigate the roots of power imbalances, both in the state and in markets, and to make suggestions for a fundamental social and economic reform in the interest of justice and well-being. Both his social critique and his proposed reforms are grounded in a deeply held and somewhat unorthodox religious faith, as well as in a vigorously applied but somewhat unconventional view of science.
Unfortunately he also expresses some views on the role and duties of women and the use of birth control which some readers may find offensive. This material is mostly contained in Chapter 40, the last chapter. (Summary by Joanna Michal Hoyt) (11 hr 0 min)
Chapters
Epigraph | 2:59 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter I | 8:35 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter II | 14:28 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter III | 13:30 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter IV | 6:36 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter V | 9:05 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter VI | 7:02 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter VII | 6:32 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter VIII | 12:42 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter IX | 6:05 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter X | 12:05 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter XI | 6:51 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter XII | 9:36 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter XIII | 16:13 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter XIV | 14:12 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter XV | 13:55 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter XVI | 11:12 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter XVII | 21:03 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter XVIII | 30:08 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter XIX | 14:04 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter XX | 28:32 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter XXI | 36:38 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter XXII | 11:41 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter XXIII | 8:03 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter XXIV | 27:59 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter XXV | 20:56 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter XXVI | 17:18 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter XXVII | 18:00 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter XXVIII | 11:29 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter XXIX | 17:27 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter XXX | 20:34 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter XXXI | 14:35 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter XXXII | 10:39 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter XXXIII | 6:18 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter XXXIV | 23:42 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter XXXV | 3:38 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter XXXVI | 19:59 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter XXXVII | 15:45 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter XXXVIII | 45:01 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter XXXIX | 36:05 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Chapter XL | 29:04 | Read by Joanna Michal Hoyt |
Reviews
As always Tolstoy has the creative gift to touch my soul.
Abcher Omar