Description: Capitalism is central to our understanding of contemporary economic and political life and yet what does it really mean? If, as has now been shown to be the case, capital and property rights existed in pre-modern and pre-capitalist societies, what is left of our understanding of capitalism? Steven G. Marks' provocative new book calls into question everything we thought we knew about capitalism, from the word's very origins and development to the drivers of Western economic growth. Ranging from the Middle Ages to the present, The Information Nexus reveals that the truly distinctive feature of capitalism is business's drive to acquire and analyze information, supported by governments that allow unfettered access to public data. This new interpretation of capitalism helps to explain the rise of the West, puts our current information age into historical perspective, and provides a benchmark for the comparative assessment of economic systems in today's globalized environment.
Review Quotes: "Steven Marks has written the best - and certainly the most compelling - single study of the historical origins of modern capitalism. This terrific book demolishes many hard-held beliefs and ideologies about capitalism, for instance that it is based on control of capital! Marks makes a skilful case that the way we organize and share information is central to the way we behave in politics but also in the economy."
Harold James, author of Family Capitalism and Making the European Monetary Union