Traces the history of the capitalist idea in western thought, from its origins in the ancient classical world and medieval Christianity to its flowering from 1700 to the present day, revealing how philosophers and theorists have influenced the ways in which the market can affect society and analyzing the moral, cultural, and political impact of capitalism. Reprint.

(view table of contents)

An examination of Smith's 'Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations' argues that Smith was more concerned with championing the cause of merchants than proving that a free market led to a decent society

Product Description: Why did some of the "best and brightest" of Weimar intellectuals advocate totalitarian solutions to the problems of liberal democratic, capitalist society? How did their "radical conservatism" contribute to the rise of National Socialism? What roles did they play in the Third Reich? How did their experience of totalitarianism lead them to recast their social and political thought? This biography of Hans Freyer, a prominent German sociologist and political ideologist, is a case study of intellectuals and a "god that failed"--not on the political left, but on the right, where its significance has been overlooked...read more