The Invention of Capitalism: Classical Political Economy and the Secret History of Primitive Accumulation by Michael Perelman
English | May 3, 2000 | ISBN: 0822324911 | 422 pages | PDF | 3 MB
English | May 3, 2000 | ISBN: 0822324911 | 422 pages | PDF | 3 MB
The originators of classical political economy—Adam Smith, David Ricardo, James Steuart, and others—created a discourse that explained the logic, the origin, and, in many respects, the essential rightness of capitalism. But, in the great texts of that discourse, these writers downplayed a crucial requirement for capitalism’s creation: For it to succeed, peasants would have to abandon their self-sufficient lifestyle and go to work for wages in a factory. Why would they willingly do this?