The Information Nexus
Global Capitalism from the Renaissance to the Present

A provocative new book calling into question everything we thought we knew about capitalism and what makes it unique.

Steven G. Marks (Author)

9781107519633, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 25 July 2016

262 pages
22.7 x 16.2 x 1.4 cm, 0.38 kg

'If we agree that the duty of historians is to examine the past out of a commitment to the present and the future of the societies in which they live, then The Information Nexus clearly fulfills this duty and as such, can be seen as a timely and well-deserved contribution to the economic history bookshelf.' Amir Lavie, The Prospectus

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.

Part I. 'Capitalism', Word and Concept: 1. Cries of pain: the word 'capitalism'
2. 'Capitalism' in the mirror of the twentieth century
3. The myths of capitalism
Part II. The Information Nexus: 4. Early modern Europe's expanding field of vision: the origins of capitalism
5. Age of electricity and engines: America's mass market
6. The digital age and the globalization of capitalism
Conclusion
Index.

Subject Areas: Economic history [KCZ], 21st century history: from c 2000 - [HBLX], 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900 [HBLL], Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700 [HBLH], Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500 [HBLC], General & world history [HBG]