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Illth, coined by 
In Ruskin's view:
:Wealth, therefore, is "The possession of the valuable by the valiant"; and in considering it as a power existing in a nation, the two elements, the value of the thing, and the valour of its possessor, must be estimated together. Whence it appears that many of the persons commonly considered wealthy, are in reality no more wealthy than the locks of their own strong boxes are, they being inherently and eternally incapable of wealth; and operating for the nation, in an economical point of view, either as pools of dead water, and eddies in a stream (which, so long as the stream flows, are useless, or serve only to drown people, but may become of importance in a state of stagnation should the stream dry); or else, as dams in a river, of which the ultimate service depends not on the dam, but the miller; or else, as mere accidental stays and impediments, acting not as wealth, but (for we ought to have a correspondent term) as "illth" causing various devastation and trouble around them in all directions; or lastly, act not at all, but are merely animated conditions of delay, (no use being possible of anything they have until they are dead,) in which last condition they are nevertheless often useful as delays, and 'impedimenta,' (''''Illth, Wealth, and Net Welfare''
by Herman Daly, November 13, 2011.
''The Illth of Nations''
McGill Reporter, Vol. 35: 2002-2003, April 3, 2003
Comic book highlights Ruskinian views
The dark side of wealth has a name: ‘illth’
''Financial Times'' {{rhetoric-stub 1860s neologisms Critique of political economy Rhetorical techniques
John Ruskin
John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and pol ...
in the 1860s, is the reverse of wealth in the sense of ''ill'' being the opposite of ''well''.
In Ruskin's view:
:Wealth, therefore, is "The possession of the valuable by the valiant"; and in considering it as a power existing in a nation, the two elements, the value of the thing, and the valour of its possessor, must be estimated together. Whence it appears that many of the persons commonly considered wealthy, are in reality no more wealthy than the locks of their own strong boxes are, they being inherently and eternally incapable of wealth; and operating for the nation, in an economical point of view, either as pools of dead water, and eddies in a stream (which, so long as the stream flows, are useless, or serve only to drown people, but may become of importance in a state of stagnation should the stream dry); or else, as dams in a river, of which the ultimate service depends not on the dam, but the miller; or else, as mere accidental stays and impediments, acting not as wealth, but (for we ought to have a correspondent term) as "illth" causing various devastation and trouble around them in all directions; or lastly, act not at all, but are merely animated conditions of delay, (no use being possible of anything they have until they are dead,) in which last condition they are nevertheless often useful as delays, and 'impedimenta,' (''Unto This Last ''Unto This Last'' is an essay critical of economics by John Ruskin, first published between August and December 1860 in the monthly journal ''Cornhill Magazine'' in four articles.
Title
The title is a quotation from the Parable of the Workers i ...
'', Essay IV, p. 182, 1860)
Various other writers have used the term, and continue to do so. A notable example is George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...
, who used illth as a subheading in an 1889 essay.
In the context of modern economic theory and practice, the term has been central to the work of Herman Daly and his advocacy for a Steady-state economy.by Herman Daly, November 13, 2011.
References
External links
''The Illth of Nations''
McGill Reporter, Vol. 35: 2002-2003, April 3, 2003
Comic book highlights Ruskinian views
The dark side of wealth has a name: ‘illth’
''Financial Times'' {{rhetoric-stub 1860s neologisms Critique of political economy Rhetorical techniques