Capitalism: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

Rating:
Summary: Thought Provoking
Review: 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.