Here the publications will be listed that I produced during my career. I am still working on it. But one thing is finished: the translation of my Dutch book on the history of religion and economy into English.
It can be downloaded from here as PDF and e-pub.
‘Back cover text’ of ‘The Adventure of the Human Enterprise’
Whenever in the history of mankind there was a crisis, only a new and intense inspiration could offer a way out. In The Adventure of the Human Enterprise, Otto Kroesen follows the trail of these inspired voices. These inspirations offered people a new faith and self-understanding and resulted in a new social and economic order.
This human adventure starts with the tribal societies, close and entrepreneurial groups. Later hierarchical empires emerge, like Egypt and China. But also Israel and Greece have shaped who we are in our innermost being. After antiquity follows the church of the martyrs, Islam and Europe, and finally global society after the two world wars.
Are modern enterprises still aware of the bigger story by which they are shaped? It seems people only have their own fragmentary biographies. We are uprooted and homeless, fragmented by empty busyness and quick sensations. How do we meet the challenges of our time? Which bigger story pulls us together in our human endeavor?
The adventure of the human enterprise is the translation of the Dutch version, De menselijke onderneming, het grote verhaal van geloof en economie, published by Skandalon, 2022, www.skandalon.nl. The translation is from the author himself supported by deepl.com.
OTTO KROESEN was professor in ethics and cross-cultural entrepreneurship at the Delft University of Technology until 2022. Before that he was a minister and students pastor. With the social history of Rosenstock-Huessy as point of orientation the upheavals of our time are understood from a new and promising perspective. Earlier he published Planetary Responsibilities: an Ethics of Timing, and Cross-cultural Entrepreneurship and Social Transformation.
Picture of front page: the picture was taken by the author in Bangladesh at some time in the 90s. The roots of the tree have become uncovered due to the erosion which is continuous along the banks of the big rivers in Bangladesh. The tree branches out enormously. It reminds of the summary of history given by Rosenstock-Huessy. The roots represent the era before revelation, tribes and empires. The tree trunk represents the revelation to Israel with its unique focus on future justice. The branches represent the growth and differentiation of societies under the symbol of the cross in the Christian era. These dispensations build on each other and save each other.Picture of front page: the picture was taken by the author in Bangladesh at some time in the 90s. The roots of the tree have become uncovered due to the erosion which is continuous along the banks of the big rivers in Bangladesh. The tree branches out enormously. It reminds of the summary of history given by Rosenstock-Huessy. The roots represent the era before revelation, tribes and empires. The tree trunk represents the revelation to Israel with its unique focus on future justice. The branches represent the growth and differentiation of societies under the symbol of the cross in the Christian era. These dispensations build on each other and save each other.
