Werner Sombart (1863-1941) was one of the leading German economists and social scientists of the late 19thand early 20thcenturies. The son of an industrialist, his academic career was hampered by his early reputation as a Marxist economist. However, Sombart in his own work reversed Marx's primacy of base over superstructure and emphasised the role of Geistor spirit. This focus on the psychological foundations of capitalism was to be a constant for Sombart throughout his career and became more pronounced after he became disillusioned with socialism. Max Weber himself, co-editor with Sombart and Edgar Jaffé of the important journal Archiv für Sozialwissenschaft und Sozialpolitik, wrote the following in his most famous work: In general I do not need specially to point out, although the following studies go back in their most important points of view to much older work, how much they owe in their development to the mere existence of Sombart's important works, with their pointed formulations and this even, perhaps especially, where they take a different road. Even those who feel themselves continually and decisively disagreeing with Sombart's views, and who reject many of his theses, have the duty to do so only after a thorough study of his work. (Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, 198) Sombart's contribution to economic thought as one of the leading figures in the later German Historical School was extremely wide ranging. All of these contributions were brought together by Sombart in his magnum opus of some 3,000 pages (in 193 chapters): Der moderne Kapitalismus: Historisch-systematische Darstellung des gesamt-europäischen Wirtschaftslebens von seinen Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart, the first part of which - concerning pre-capitalist economic life - is translated into English for the first time in this volume.

Werner Sombart (1863-1941) was one of the leading German economists and social scientists of the late 19thand early 20thcenturies. The son of an industrialist, his academic career was hampered by his early reputation as a Marxist economist. However, Sombart in his own work reversed Marx's primacy of base over superstructure and emphasised the role of Geistor spirit. This focus on the psychological foundations of capitalism was to be a constant for Sombart throughout his career and became more pronounced after he became disillusioned with socialism. Max Weber himself, co-editor with Sombart and Edgar Jaffé of the important journal Archiv für Sozialwissenschaft und Sozialpolitik, wrote the following in his most famous work: In general I do not need specially to point out, although the following studies go back in their most important points of view to much older work, how much they owe in their development to the mere existence of Sombart's important works, with their pointed formulations and this even, perhaps especially, where they take a different road. Even those who feel themselves continually and decisively disagreeing with Sombart's views, and who reject many of his theses, have the duty to do so only after a thorough study of his work. (Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, 198) Sombart's contribution to economic thought as one of the leading figures in the later German Historical School was extremely wide ranging. All of these contributions were brought together by Sombart in his magnum opus of some 3,000 pages (in 193 chapters): Der moderne Kapitalismus: Historisch-systematische Darstellung des gesamt-europäischen Wirtschaftslebens von seinen Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart, the first part of which - concerning pre-capitalist economic life - is translated into English for the first time in this volume.

The management field increasingly recognizes that most firms in the world are family firms and that these entities operate differently from the non-family firms on which most of our current management theories are based. The De Gruyter Handbook of Business Families brings together work from leading academics who explore emerging research themes relevant to business families, particularly drawing in new insights from adjacent disciplines that can advance the family business field. The handbook challenges the traditional notion of the "single firm–single family" that has characterized most early research on family business. Recognizing that families may simultaneously own or control multiple businesses as well as substantial wealth beyond these firms in the form of financial and non-financial assets, this handbook focuses on business families rather than the narrower construct of family business. The contributions in this handbook explore the relatively neglected dynamics between individuals with family ties that shape the interaction between family and business; business families with multiple businesses; how business families adopt formal rules and processes around their joint activities; and the institutionalization of wealth and business families in society. The De Gruyter Handbook of Business Families fills a gap in the family business research literature and is an essential reference work for researchers and graduate-level students in the area of business families.

Ever since its first publication in 1992, The End of History and the Last Man has provoked controversy and debate. Francis Fukuyama's prescient analysis of religious fundamentalism, politics, scientific progress, ethical codes, and war is as essential for a world fighting fundamentalist terrorists as it was for the end of the Cold War. Now updated with a new afterword, The End of History and the Last Man is a modern classic.

A landmark comparative history of Europe and China that examines why the Industrial Revolution emerged in the West The Great Divergence sheds light on one of the great questions of history: Why did sustained industrial growth begin in Northwest Europe? Historian Kenneth Pomeranz shows that as recently as 1750, life expectancy, consumption, and product and factor markets were comparable in Europe and East Asia. Moreover, key regions in China and Japan were no worse off ecologically than those in Western Europe, with each region facing corresponding shortages of land-intensive products. Pomeranz’s comparative lens reveals the two critical factors resulting in Europe's nineteenth-century divergence—the fortunate location of coal and access to trade with the New World. As East Asia’s economy stagnated, Europe narrowly escaped the same fate largely due to favorable resource stocks from underground and overseas. This Princeton Classics edition includes a preface from the author and makes a powerful historical work available to new readers.

This volume takes stock of recent research on economic growth, as well as the development of capital and labour markets, during the centuries that preceded the Industrial Revolution. The book underlines the diversity in the economic experiences of early modern Europeans and suggests how this variety might be the foundation of a new conception of economic and social change.

In Dependency, Neoliberalism and Globalization in Latin America, Carlos Eduardo Martins manages the difficult task of updating theories on all three key concepts, enabling their fresh application towards a critical comprehension of societies, especially those in the periphery. En Globalización, dependencia y neoliberalismo en América Latina, Carlos Eduardo Martins cumple la difícil tarea de actualizar las teorías sobre esos tres conceptos clave para el pensamiento contemporáneo y la comprensión de las sociedades, principalmente las periféricas.

Early in the twenty-first century, a quiet revolution occurred. For the first time, the major developed economies began to invest more in intangible assets, like design, branding, and software, than in tangible assets, like machinery, buildings, and computers. For all sorts of businesses, the ability to deploy assets that one can neither see nor touch is increasingly the main source of long-term success. But this is not just a familiar story of the so-called new economy. Capitalism without Capital shows that the growing importance of intangible assets has also played a role in some of the larger economic changes of the past decade, including the growth in economic inequality and the stagnation of productivity. Jonathan Haskel and Stian Westlake explore the unusual economic characteristics of intangible investment and discuss how an economy rich in intangibles is fundamentally different from one based on tangibles. Capitalism without Capital concludes by outlining how managers, investors, and policymakers can exploit the characteristics of an intangible age to grow their businesses, portfolios, and economies.

'One of the most powerful books in the social sciences ever written. ... A must-read' Thomas Piketty 'The twentieth century's most prophetic critic of capitalism' Prospect Karl Polanyi's landmark 1944 work is one of the earliest and most powerful critiques of unregulated markets. Tracing the history of capitalism from the great transformation of the industrial revolution onwards, he shows that there has been nothing 'natural' about the market state. Instead of reducing human relations and our environment to mere commodities, the economy must always be embedded in civil society. Describing the 'avalanche of social dislocation' of his time, Polanyi's hugely influential work is a passionate call to protect our common humanity. 'Polanyi's vision for an alternative economy re-embedded in politics and social relations offers a refreshing alternative' Guardian 'Polanyi exposes the myth of the free market' Joseph Stiglitz With a new introduction by Gareth Dale