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This is an expansive economic history of the modern world - it draws ideas from Adam Smith, Polanyi's conceptions of the free market, Marx's histories of capitalist societies, Braudel's theory of civilizations, Wallenstein's 'world-systems theory', and Schumpeter's 'creative destruction'.

Arrighi's thesis encompasses several broad themes.

First - capitalism is not necessarily only the history of wage-labour, but also the spread of 'finance-capital', involving liquidity and ease of exchange.

Second - Capitalism is built upon the relationship between the state and capital.

Third - the history of capitalism over the past five hundred years consists of four 'long centuries' - the cycles of capital accumulation of the Genoese, Dutch, British, and American, the last of which we are presently in, and is currently in decline.

Fourth - each cycle of accumulation first begins with stages of competition in trade or manufacture. As profits begin to decline, for various reasons, capital accumulation proceeds more through 'financialization', a sign of decline.

Fifth - Each cycle builds upon, and outcompetes, its predecessor. For example - the Dutch were able to surpass the Genoese-Venetian model of territorial outposts by forming organizations like the Dutch East India Company. The British expanded upon this commercial-financial model with both industrial strength and imperial expansion, harnessing native markets. The United States succeeded Britain by building up the first three, and instead using non-territorial domination, vertical-integration, and multinational corporations, which can transcend and act above markets.

I would like a slightly closer look at the processes of each new regime change. He focuses on institutions and organizations, but not so much on the role of technology and commercial innovations (if Arrighi were still alive, derivatives would be an interesting addition to the American cycle of financialization).

Because this book was written in 1995, before the Asian crisis of 1997-8, it instead hypothesizes that Japan and the other East Asian tigers will instead reign as the predominant nations after the American decline. Recent events have tipped this speculative honor to the Chinese, which Arrighi discussed in his last book, Adam Smith in Beijing. I will read this very soon. ( )

Surely one of the best books I've ever read. Arrighi has fascinating ideas about capitalism as a historical phenomenon and about its uncertain future. ( )

Excellent description of overlapping systems of capital accumulation stretching back to the Italian city-states of Venice and Genoa. For a novice in economic studies the financial language and concepts can be daunting, but one cannot experience this work without attaining a completely renewed perspective on world history. ( )