Description: "How did the dynamic economic system we know as capitalism develop among the peasants and lords of feudal Europe? In The Origin of Capitalism, a now-classic work of history, Ellen Meiksins Wood offers readers a clear and accessible introduction to the theories and debates concerning the birth of capitalism, imperialism, and the modern nation state. Capitalism is not a natural and inevitable consequence of human nature, nor simply an extension of age-old practices of trade and commerce. Rather, it is a late and localized product of very specific historical conditions, which required great transformations in social relations and in the relationship between humans and nature."--Page 4 of cover.
Review Quotes: "The Origin of Capitalism was one of those 'Aha!' moments. Wood was an extraordinarily rigorous and imaginative thinker, someone who breathed life into Marxist political theory and made it speak--not to just to me but to many others--at multiple levels: historical, theoretical, political."
--Corey Robin, Jacobin
--Adrienne Rich "This extremely valuable book offers an insightful tour of the historical debates surrounding the transition from feudalism to capitalism ... a must-read for anyone with even the remotest interest in the origins of capitalism, or economic thought in general, from undergraduates through professionals."
--Choice "Brilliant book ... Into the central thread of her argument, Ellen Meiksins Wood has woven a wonderfully rich texture of comment on the arguments and debates that preceded her ... not just a valuable new interpretation of an old history, it carries important lessons for our own times."
--Spokesman