The Origin of Capitalism: A Longer View

by Ellen Meiksins Wood

Paperback, 2017

Status

Checked out

Genres

Publication

Verso (2017), Edition: Reprint, 224 pages

Description

How did the dynamic economic system we know as capitalism develop among the peasants and lords of feudal Europe? In The Origin of Capitalism, a now-classic work of history, Ellen Meiksins Wood offers a clear and accessible introduction to the theories and debates concerning the birth of capitalism, imperialism, and the modern nation state. Capitalism is not a natural and inevitable consequence of human nature, nor simply an extension of age-old practices of trade and commerce. Rather, it is a late and localized product of very specific historical conditions, which required great transformations in social relations and in the relationship between humans and nature.

User reviews

LibraryThing member stillatim

Rather more in-crowd than I'd expected; this should be subtitled 'What previous analyses have got wrong', rather than 'a longer view.' But the central insight is crucial: our society is not something that happens naturally when you get rid of barriers to us doing what comes naturally. It's

something that was created by forcing people to do capitalist things.

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LibraryThing member the.ken.petersen

This is a fascinating book. It makes a very strong case that England created capitalism not through the industrial revolution, as most histories from the left and right of the political spectrum assert, but in an earlier period of agrarian land conflict.

As Ms Meiksins Wood says, we cannot navigate

our exit from capitalism if we are not aware as to the method of our entry thereinto.

Some of the author's assertions are at odds with Marxist views as well as, naturally, being unrepresentative of neoliberal views. This makes it easy for large blocks to gainsay her claims: that doesn't mean that they are wrong and I, for one, can see their merit.

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