Capitalism: A Very Short Introduction

by James Fulcher

Book Overview

What is capitalism? Is capitalism the same everywhere? Is there an alternative?

The word "capitalism" is one that is heard and used frequently, but what is capitalism really all about, and what does it mean? This Very Short Introduction addresses questions such as, "what is capital?" before discussing the history and development of capitalism through several detailed case studies, ranging from the tulipomania of 17th century Holland, the Great...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0198726074
• ISBN13: 9780198726074
• Release Date: August 2015
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 4.2" x 7.0"

Customer Reviews

Good, quick read for a novice.

The book traces the origins of capitalism right from the trading days of East India Company. It discusses the presence of feudalism, its slow transformation into socialism, and finally its metamorphosis into capitalism. Once there, James does a great job of dissecting the facets of capitalism and the various forces that defines its nature - politics, business, labor unions, markets, currency, and others. He does this by comparing three distinct forms of capitalism - Swedish, British, and Japanese. Slowly the pieces of the puzzle start falling together. In the last chapter, he discusses the various crises that have fallen upon/by capitalism. Per him, crisis is a by-product of this system and cannot be avoided. Thanks to the ever volatile consumer demand, never ending profit increasing, and the human nature in general. Economics 101 - Every person will act in order to maximize his/her profit. This book is very lucidly written and I would suggest all to give this book a try and keep it in your book shelf, if possible. I cannot say that I am a master of this subject, but it has nevertheless built a foundation for me to develop my knowledge and make informed opinions about the events happening around me.

An interesting survey of the many forms that capitalism can take

My own economic position could be described as a reluctant capitalist. I am definitely not a believer in an unregulated free market simply because I know such a beast to be a chimera that never has and never will exist. The only two choices for a society is to either let the economy run along unattended wrecking havoc (as it has recently in the world economy) or subject it to regulation and intense oversight. There are always advocates for the former, but reality keeps forcing governments to take the latter track. Those advocating an unregulated free market are ideologues and utopians with little or no connection to the real world (a situation pointed out in 1944 by Karl Polanyi in his classic THE GREAT TRANSFORMATION, in which he pointed out in great historical detail that there had never in human history been an example of a self-regulating free market -- in other words, the invisible hand has been absent in history). Its opponents have also often been utopian (as with Marxists when they move from a trenchant and probing critique of Capitalism to a recipe for future historical development). But those who have been most effective are those who accept the reality of capitalism yet reserve the right to discipline and mold it, like FDR and Churchill (though described as a conservative, American's have to remember the Churchill reformed the British prison system, was crucial in developing national health insurance in Britain, suggested the idea of the European Union, and always felt -- in contrast with, say Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher -- that government was a very good thing indeed). Every few decades reality provides a sharp rebuke to the free market ideologues. They are sure to go away in the short fun, but there is little question that in a decade or so they will be back, arguing the same kind of nonsense that plagued the U.S. economy in the 1890s, the 1920s, and more recently. I absolutely do not think that the answer is to get rid of capitalism. I do think that far greater federal intervention is needed. For instance, I would fully back the idea of a new federal administration that would have to sign off on any new financial product to be offered, such as the mortgage backed securities that recently got us into so much trouble. There were, of course, private institutions that were supposed to do this, but I think more needs to be done on a level with teeth to bring about changes. My point is that we are in a period of revising our ideas about the kind of capitalism that we want to have. If the self-regulating free market economy is at the moment thoroughly discredited, what form should our capitalism then take? That is where a book of this type is so valuable. The neoliberalism put forward by Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher has so dominated our conceptions of capitalism that we've lost sight of the very large number of forms that capitalism can take. Fulcher does touch upon capitalism in Britain and the U.S., bu

Excellent but omits ecological challenges

This was the first book I read in the "Very Short Introduction" series. I was surprised by how substantial it is. It also seems quite balanced. References, suggestions for further reading and a 5 page index are included. My overall impression is how strong capitalism is world-wide. That supports Fulcher's conclusion that reform must take place within capitalism rather than seeking a replacement for capitalism. However, when Fulcher writes that a "search for an alternative to capitalism is fruitless ... and no final crisis is in sight, or, short of some ecological catastrope, even really conceivable", how improbable is that ecological catastrophe? As the globe warms and the oceans die, will the rich hold out expecting to be able to use their wealth to make their lives bearable as the rest of us suffer? Just how will capitalism respond to a growing pressure for sustainability? By not exploring the ecological challenges to capitalism, Fulcher has indeed introduced capitalism but not addressed its fate and ours later in this century. Although this is a "very short introduction", Michael Newman's "Socialism: A Very Short Introduction" and Colin Ward's "Anarchism: A Very Short Introduction" do address the ecological issue. Even if socialism and anarchism seem improbable and reform is possible within capitalism, it would have been useful to hear Fulcher's impression of whether and how capitalism might address the challenge of ecological sustainability.

Thought Provoking

Teaching capitalism in today's world is like describing water to a fish; we are surrounded by it, can't live without it and are unaware of the alternatives. Most have never experienced the depression, many have forgotten the days when communism was actually a threat. We are blind to the absolutely crucial nature of how our world works. Although we watched the stock market plummet in 1987 and have all learned valuable lessons from the internet boom & bust, I picked up this book because I wanted to know a bit more about how the scholars view capitalism. The book takes the reader through a history of capitalism while briefly summarizing everything you forgot from college economics. While the discussion of the development of capitalism focused on some interesting questions of historical interpretation, the strength of this work is the description and analysis of how the capitalistic system works differently in different countries. The power of capitalism is set forth as its ability to adapt. Where other systems--feudalism, communism, socialism, etc--failed was that they could not adapt to change. The book was an excellent overview; it was current, easy to read, and contains a fine list of resources for further study.