You may have to Search all our reviewed books and magazines, click the sign up button below to create a free account.
This pioneering work debunks the neoliberal origin myth of how capitalism came into the world.
‘Commerce and manufactures gradually introduced order and good government,’ wrote Adam Smith in his Wealth of Nations, ‘and with them, the liberty and security of individuals.’ However, Philipp Robinson Rössner shows how, when looked at in the face of history, it has usually been the other way around. This book follows the development of capitalism from the Middle Ages through the industrial revolution to the modern day, casting new light on the areas where premodern political economies of growth and development made a difference. It shows how order and governance provided the foundation for prosperity, growth and the wealth of nations. Written for scholars and students of economic history, this is a pioneering new study that debunks the neoliberal origin myth of how capitalism came into the world.
This book hinges upon ideas and discourses variously known under labels such as “Mercantilism” and “Cameralism”. Often viewed as antithesis of capitalism, inclusive institutions and good economy in the “West”, this book re-assembles them and builds them into a coherent origin story of modern capitalism. It explores the field of intellectual and conceptual history, especially the history of Renaissance and Mercantilism in a longer history of capitalism. Rather than hindrances, the author argues that Mercantilist and Cameralist political economies presented essential stepping stones of modern capitalism, in Britain and beyond. This book will be of interest to academics and students in general economic history, the history of capitalism, economic development and the history of economic thought.
Early modern England had a distinctive preoccupation with the social responsibilities of private businesses. Koji Yamamoto explores for the first time how promises of public service in the economic sphere came to be abused, and how statesmen, playwrights, petitioners, and merchants responded to such perversions of promised public service.
This volume presents Martin Luther’s contribution to the modern economic sciences, providing a detailed introduction and revised translation of his major pamphlet on economic matters, ‘On Commerce and Usury’ (‘Von Kauffshandlung vnd Wucher’, 1524). In his teachings on indulgences Luther picked up on the question of hoarding money, and was among the earliest voices in early modern Europe calling for an ‘ethical’ economics. Luther’s work prefigured many later contributions to modern economic theory, from the mercantilists and cameralists to the German Historical School.
History and Economic Life offers students a wide-ranging introduction to both quantitative and qualitative approaches to interpreting economic history sources from the Middle Ages to the Twentieth Century. Having identified an ever-widening gap between the use of qualitative sources by cultural historians and quantitative sources by economic historians, the book aims to bridge the divide by making economic history sources more accessible to students and the wider public, and highlighting the need for a complementary rather than exclusive approach. Divided into two parts, the book begins by equipping students with a toolbox to approach economic history sources, considering the range of source...
Reading Medieval Sources is an exciting new series which leads scholars and students into some of the most challenging and rewarding sources from the European Middle Ages, and introduces the most important approaches to understanding them. Written by an international team of twelve leading scholars, this volume Money and Coinage in the Middle Ages presents a set of fresh and insightful perspectives that demonstrate the rich potential of this source material to all scholars of medieval history and culture. It includes coverage of major developments in monetary history, set into their economic and political context, as well as innovative and interdisciplinary perspectives that address money and coinage in relation to archaeology, anthropology and medieval literature. Contributors are Nanouschka Myrberg Burström, Elizabeth Edwards, Gaspar Feliu, Anna Gannon, Richard Kelleher, Bill Maurer, Nick Mayhew, Rory Naismith, Philipp Robinson Rössner, Alessia Rovelli, Lucia Travaini, and Andrew Woods.
What was the role of merchant guilds in the medieval and early modern economy? Does their wide prevalence and long survival mean they were efficient institutions that benefited the whole economy? Or did merchant guilds simply offer an effective way for the rich and powerful to increase their wealth, at the expense of outsiders, customers and society as a whole? These privileged associations of businessmen were key institutions in the European economy from 1000 to 1800. Historians debate merchant guilds' role in the Commercial Revolution, economists use them to support theories about institutions and development, and policymakers view them as prime examples of social capital, with important lessons for modern economies. Sheilagh Ogilvie's magisterial new history of commercial institutions shows how scrutinizing merchant guilds can help us understand which types of institution made trade grow, why institutions exist, and how corporate privileges affect economic efficiency and human well-being.
Economic Growth and the Origins of Modern Political Economy addresses the intellectual foundations of modern economic growth and European industrialization. Through an examination both of the roots of European industrialization and of the history of economic ideas, this book presents a uniquely broad examination of the origins of modern political economy. This volume asks what can we learn from 'old' theories in terms of our understanding of history, our economic fate today, and the prospects for the modern world's poorest countries. Spanning across the past five hundred years, this book brings together leading international contributors offering comparative perspectives with countries outsi...
An innovative account of how thousands of acts of parliament sought to improve economic activity during the early industrial revolution.