Capitalism Is Not What You Think

In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks to Harvard professor Sven Beckert about his new book Capitalism: A Global History.

Sven explains:

Why the history of capitalism matters for understanding the present

How most histories of capitalism are too Eurocentric

How merchant communities in the medieval Muslim world and other regions laid the foundations of capitalism

How European merchants learned from and interacted with merchants in the Muslim world

Trust networks in global trade, including family, religious, and city-based merchant networks

How capitalism and state power grew together

European divergence: why Europe became central to capitalism

Effects of Ottoman control and European geopolitical weakness on Atlantic expansion

Role of conquest, slavery, and colonial expansion in building capitalist societies

Tension between capitalism’s drive for unlimited growth and nature’s limits

Challenges to neoliberalism from the left and the populist right

Find Sven on Bluesky: @svenbeckert.bsky.social

Visit Sven’s personal website: svenbeckert.com

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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.

Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.

This episode was produced and edited by Thomas Small. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices