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Rating: 
Summary: Great historical context - disappointing conclusion
Review: I read this book to obtain a historical overview of capitalism versus an economic treatise or philosophical debate over its political context. The first six chapters did a good job of providing that context but the conclusion was extremely disappointing. She should have stuck with a summary of the historical context and left out what I perceived to be her political commentary on the benefits/detriments of capitalism.
Rating: 
Summary: nature or nurture?
Review: I'm all for a general call to investigate the historical specificity of capitalism. EMW does a good job arguing the case for a radical investigation of the specificity of agrarian capitalism as opposed to the more liberal thesis that contends capitalism has always been there in history, in embryo, all it needed was the processes in place to remove the fetters that prevented its full blossoming. I liked this book, the last two chapters on the nation state and postmodernity were the only weak parts in an otherwise trenchant argument. Oh Barbara I know what you're thinking, but what the heck, I'm broke ... why not turn over a new leaf. Down with the coercion of capital, good work Ellen.
Rating: 
Summary: A longer and clearer view!
Review: In "Origin" Ellen M Wood clarifies precisely capitalism's beginning and development.In the process she creates,in the reader, a better understanding of a number of issues.Particularly the agrarian roots of capitalism,the distinctiveness of capitalist coercion versus the absolutist state,the relationship between capitalism and imperialism and between capitalism and the Nation-State.In short,to gain a better understanding of the system that currently dominates the globe and why it is not preordained that this should be so,start with this superb book.
Rating:
Summary: A longer and clearer view!
Review: In "Origin" Ellen M Wood clarifies precisely capitalism's beginning and development.In the process she creates,in the reader, a better understanding of a number of issues.Particularly the agrarian roots of capitalism,the distinctiveness of capitalist coercion versus the absolutist state,the relationship between capitalism and imperialism and between capitalism and the Nation-State. In short,to gain a better understanding of the system that currently dominates the globe and why it is not preordained that this should be so,start with this superb book.
Rating:
Summary: Origins of Capitalism
Review: There is a very interesting thesis residing in this short, easy-to-read book. The author maintains that the conventional theory of the origin of capitalism, the "commercialization model," makes a mistake by equating common trading tactics practiced from ancient times with capitalistic intent. The tendency to see modern capitalism as a combination of such trading techniques and a certain type of technological economy has, the author argues, hidden the real history of the origins of capitalism.
How did capitalism originate? The author says it first occurred in the 17th century English countryside. New conceptions of production and property rights were introduced, and both the landlords' and the producer-tenants' viability became dependent on the activity of a single domestic marketplace. The notions of profit and economic improvement became paramount: the tenant who could produce more wealth per lot was able to afford the rents and make more profit; the landlord who was able to find more productive tenants was able to raise his rents. Less productive farmers were excluded from the land and forced to move or work for a wage. The beginnings of capitalism thus lie not in the trading urge but in the urge toward economic improvement.
The argument seems to me interesting and plausible. The only problem I had was that in some sections the theoretical jargon was laid on a little too thickly. Luckily, this problem was minimal.
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