Review of David L. Schindler, L’ordine dell’amore. Le società occidentali e la memoria di Dio,tr it. di F. Giardini, pref. di J. Lynch, Lindau, Torino 2011

In this volume Schindler argues that the proper ontology of the human being is that of the “being-as-gift,” that generates the “being-as-gratitude”. From this perspective, richness comes to consist in partaking in “reality-as-gift”: all the aspects of economy (production, exchange, etc.) need to be intrinsically informed by this view and not simply “directed” from the outside by a certain philosophical or cultural perspective. I have analysed the contents of the book in relation to the contemporary debate on the same topics.