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Capitalist Economics introduces and explains the basic economic forces that shape the present and structure the future of capitalist societies today. Rejecting the idea that economics is a universal science of "choice" or the "efficient allocation of scarce resources," this book analyzes economic forces and relations as essential elements of a broader society. This entails understanding "the economic" as a logic that always operates alongside cultural, political, and social forces. As well, it requires grasping the economic as itself a product of historical development. This book explores the unique economic pressures found in capitalist societies, offering detailed yet concise analysis of basic concepts - commodities, money, exchange, interest - and investigating broader issues such as the source of profit, the nature of growth, and the role of technology and invention. Written for political scientists, sociologists, philosophers, cultural studies scholars, and beyond, the book is a completely new way of grasping socio-economic relations.
Preface
Introduction: What is Economics?
Part I: Economics in History
1. Social Orders and Economic Relations
2. How Societies Produce
3. Capitalist Social Orders
Part II: Capitalist Economic Relations
4. Money
5. Commodities
6. Profit
Part III: Capitalist Economic Forces
7. Entrepreneurs & Investment
8. Bankers & Interest
9. The Rules of Capitalism
Sources and Further Reading
Glossary of Terms (by Benjamin Taylor)
Description
Capitalist Economics introduces and explains the basic economic forces that shape the present and structure the future of capitalist societies today. Rejecting the idea that economics is a universal science of "choice" or the "efficient allocation of scarce resources," this book analyzes economic forces and relations as essential elements of a broader society. This entails understanding "the economic" as a logic that always operates alongside cultural, political, and social forces. As well, it requires grasping the economic as itself a product of historical development. This book explores the unique economic pressures found in capitalist societies, offering detailed yet concise analysis of basic concepts - commodities, money, exchange, interest - and investigating broader issues such as the source of profit, the nature of growth, and the role of technology and invention. Written for political scientists, sociologists, philosophers, cultural studies scholars, and beyond, the book is a completely new way of grasping socio-economic relations.
