A leading economic historian traces the evolution of American capitalism from the colonial era to the present—and argues that we’ve reached a turning point that will define the era ahead. “A monumental achievement, sure to become a classic.”—Zachary D. Carter, author of The Price of Peace In this ambitious single-volume history of the United States, economic historian Jonathan Levy reveals how capitalism in America has evolved through four distinct ages and how the country’s economic evolution is inseparable from the nature of American life itself. The Age of Commerce spans the colonial era through the outbreak of the Civil War, and the Age of Capital traces the lasting impact of the industrial revolution. The volatility of the Age of Capital ultimately led to the Great Depression, which sparked the Age of Control, during which the government took on a more active role in the economy, and finally, in the Age of Chaos, deregulation and the growth of the finance industry created a booming economy for some but also striking inequalities and a lack of oversight that led directly to the crash of 2008. In Ages of American Capitalism, Levy proves that capitalism in the United States has never been just one thing. Instead, it has morphed through the country’s history—and it’s likely changing again right now. “A stunning accomplishment . . . an indispensable guide to understanding American history—and what’s happening in today’s economy.”—Christian Science Monitor “The best one-volume history of American capitalism.”—Sven Beckert, author of Empire of Cotton
Michael Haines, ed., “Population Characteristics,” in Population, vol. 1 of Historical Statistics of the United States: Millennial Edition, ed. Susan B. Carteretal. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006), 21. 2.
If not, Americans would learn the hard way that financial dispossession and plunder would accompany the as- sumption of risk. Risk management, that is, put financiers in possession of other people's money. At the same time, ...
Americana takes us on a four-hundred-year journey of this spirit of innovation and ambition through a series of Next Big Things -- the inventions, techniques, and industries that drove American history forward: from the telegraph, the ...
American Capitalism: A Reader will help you to understand how the United States became the world’s leading economic power, while revealing essential lessons about what has been and what will be possible in capitalism’s ongoing ...
A major statement for a wide-open field, this book demonstrates the breadth and scope of the work that the history of capitalism can provoke.
Highly recommended."—Choice "This intriguing book illuminates much about markets and, particularly, about the 'culture of the market' as financial capitalism began its will to power in America."—Civil War Book Review "Reading the Market ...
Here is the crucible of an unprecedented form of power marked by extreme concentrations of knowledge and free from democratic oversight.
Noam Maggor shows how the moneyed elite in Gilded Age Boston leveraged their wealth to forge transcontinental networks of commodities, labor, and transportation.
See description of Fortune in Foner and Branham, eds., Lift Every Voice, 642. 26. T. Thomas Fortune, “The Present Relations of Labor and Capital,” 1886, in Foner and Branham, eds., Lift Every Voice, 642–644. 27.
—Luigi Einaudi, economist and former president of Italy (1948–1955) I n the last chapter, Isuggested several reasons why the American middle class feels squeezed: the rising cost of college education, the rising cost of health care, ...