CAPITALISM
by Sven Beckert
Synopsis
It feels like being back in graduate school…mental exertion….
An excellent narrative that unravels the defining story of the past thousand years.
No other phenomenon has shaped human history as decisively as capitalism. It structures how we live and work, how we think about ourselves and others, how we organise our politics. Sven Beckert situates the story of capitalism within the largest conceivable geographical and historical framework in this fascinating new book.
Capitalism, argues Beckert, was born global. Emerging from merchant communities across Asia, Africa and Europe, capitalism’s radical recasting of economic life rooted itself only gradually. Then it burst onto the world scene, as European states and merchants built a powerful alliance that would propel them across the oceans. This epic drama corresponded at no point to an idealised dream of free markets. All along, state-backed institutions and imperial expansions shaped its dynamics.
Capitalism decentres the European perspective, highlighting agency, resistance, innovation and ruthless coercion around the world through to the present with the rise of Asian economies, particularly China. Sven Beckert doesn’t merely add up capitalism’s debits and credits in this monumental book, but allows us to think afresh about the past to help us re-imagine the future.
Richard adds
Professor Beckert writes in a style that is erudite and elevated beyond my normal reading level. The language is very sophisticated and complex, very advanced and polished to a level that becomes as somniacal as Sominex or a 100 year old brandy. This is not bedtime reading and if it weren’t for years of teaching history, it would be impossible reading. But my years as a history teacher have begun dividend payment. I am familiar with much of the times he writes about makeing the demanding reading easier to follow and understand. Nevertheless, it is tough bedtime reading. Far from fluff.
