< i> The Spirit of Capitalism< /i> answers a fundamental question of economics, a question neither economists nor economic historians have been able to answer: what are the reasons (rather than just the conditions) for sustained economic growth? Taking her title from Max Weber's famous study on the same subject, Liah Greenfeld focuses on the problem of motivation behind the epochal change in behavior, which from the sixteenth century on has reoriented one economy after another from subsistence to profit, transforming the nature of economic activity. A detailed analysis of the development of economic consciousness in England, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Japan, and the United States allows her to argue that the motivation, or "spirit," behind the modern, growth-oriented economy was not the liberation of the "rational economic actor," but rather nationalism. Nationalism committed masses of people to an endless race for national prestige and thus brought into being the phenomenon of economic competitiveness. < /p> < p> Nowhere has economic activity been further removed from the rational calculation of costs than in the United States, where the economy has come to be perceived as the end-all of political life and the determinant of all social progress. American "economic civilization" spurs the nation on to ever-greater economic achievement. But it turns Americans into workaholics, unsure of the purpose of their pursuits, and leads American statesmen to exaggerate the weight of economic concerns in foreign policy, often to the detriment of American political influence and the confusion of the rest of the world.
Show more< i> The Spirit of Capitalism< /i> answers a fundamental question of economics, a question neither economists nor economic historians have been able to answer: what are the reasons (rather than just the conditions) for sustained economic growth? Taking her title from Max Weber's famous study on the same subject, Liah Greenfeld focuses on the problem of motivation behind the epochal change in behavior, which from the sixteenth century on has reoriented one economy after another from subsistence to profit, transforming the nature of economic activity. A detailed analysis of the development of economic consciousness in England, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Japan, and the United States allows her to argue that the motivation, or "spirit," behind the modern, growth-oriented economy was not the liberation of the "rational economic actor," but rather nationalism. Nationalism committed masses of people to an endless race for national prestige and thus brought into being the phenomenon of economic competitiveness. < /p> < p> Nowhere has economic activity been further removed from the rational calculation of costs than in the United States, where the economy has come to be perceived as the end-all of political life and the determinant of all social progress. American "economic civilization" spurs the nation on to ever-greater economic achievement. But it turns Americans into workaholics, unsure of the purpose of their pursuits, and leads American statesmen to exaggerate the weight of economic concerns in foreign policy, often to the detriment of American political influence and the confusion of the rest of the world.
Show moreAcknowledgments Introduction Part I: Another Take on How It All Began 1. The Capitalist Spirit and the British Economic Miracle 2. "The Great Seventeenth-Century Exception" Part II: The Spread of the New Economic Consciousness on the European Continent 3. The First Convert: France 4. The Power of Concerted Action: Putting the Spirit of Capitalism to Work in Germany Part III: The Asian Challenge: The Way of Japan 5. Japanese Nationalism 6. Racing and Fighting Part IV: The Economic Civilization: The Spirit of Capitalism in the New World 7. Searching for the American System 8. The Thrust Epilogue: Looking Backward from Year 2000 Notes Index
Liah Greenfeld is unashamedly a bold sociological thinker, in search of the big questions and the big answers. The big question here is to explain our modern "economic civilization"--the transformation of our life worldwide. Most writiers have dealt with the "how"--the conditions of its emergence, take-off, and sustained growth. Greenfeld attempts the "why." Though called "the spirit of capitalism," in deference to Max Weber, she goes beyond Weber in arguing that nationalism, as a form of collective consciousness, is the cause of this great historical change, a bold and long foray. Those who feel that the social sciences should confront the big questions should not ignore this book. -- Daniel Bell, Harvard University The Spirit of Capitalism offers an important thesis which it defends with rigor and passion. It links nationalism to the market society in complex ways. Liah Greenfeld's challenging, historically buttressed argument is bound to attract a wide and attentive audience. -- Suzanne Keller, Princeton University
Liah Greenfeld is University Professor and Professor of Political Science, Sociology, and Anthropology at Boston University.
Liah Greenfeld is unashamedly a bold sociological thinker, in
search of the big questions and the big answers. The big question
here is to explain our modern "economic civilization"--the
transformation of our life worldwide. Most writiers have dealt with
the "how"--the conditions of its emergence, take-off, and sustained
growth. Greenfeld attempts the "why." Though called "the spirit of
capitalism," in deference to Max Weber, she goes beyond Weber in
arguing that nationalism, as a form of collective consciousness, is
the cause of this great historical change, a bold and long foray.
Those who feel that the social sciences should confront the big
questions should not ignore this book.
*Daniel Bell, Harvard University*
The Spirit of Capitalism offers an important thesis which it
defends with rigor and passion. It links nationalism to the market
society in complex ways. Liah Greenfeld's challenging, historically
buttressed argument is bound to attract a wide and attentive
audience.
*Suzanne Keller, Princeton University*
Greenfeld offers a riveting follow-up to Nationalism: Five Roads to
Modernity. Here she seeks to answer three questions: what caused
the emergence of the modern economy, what made the economic sphere
so dominant; and what are the reasons for sustained economic
growth? Her fundamental proposition is that nationalism is
responsible for the reorientation of economic activity toward
growth. She strengthens her argument by focusing on the periods of
emergence of the modern economy in England, France, Germany, Japan,
and the United States. In addition, she adeptly addresses the
concerns of critics of her previous work by including an in-depth
look at Japanese nationalism and the roles that economics and
diplomacy have played in fostering nationalism in her five primary
subjects plus the Netherlands and Russia. Although her approach is
unorthodox, the quality of her research and the richness of her
arguments should be challenging to the various economists,
historians, philosophers, and other social scientists who often
need to be stimulated by the writing of those outside their
disciplines. Highly recommended for both academic and public
libraries.
*Library Journal*
[An] important new book...Liah Greenfeld argues that patriotism, or
nationalism, may have a lot more to do with economic motivation
than you think. Most of us have come to accept the economist's view
of humanity: On the whole, we are rational actors; we are naturally
acquisitive; when political or social barriers are removed, most of
us will go off on a determined quest to make money and achieve ever
greater success. [Greenfeld] notes that [the] desire to make more
and more money is a recent and localized phenomenon. For most
people at most times and in most places, economic growth was not a
central or even an important goal.
*Wall Street Journal*
The Spirit of Capitalism is an immensely refreshing book...[It]
deserves to bring about a paradigm shift in the understanding of
economic growth.
*Times Literary Supplement*
This is a learned if irreverent and enjoyable book that is rooted
in close study of several nations, and Greenfeld's command of
diverse historical sources is impressive...Greenfeld certainly
presents a scholarly and eloquent case for its importance. Her
chirpy and cheeky style is also refreshing in areas dominated by
somewhat arid economic historians.
*Times Higher Education Supplement*
Liah Greenfeld is unashamedly a bold sociological thinker, in
search of the big questions and the big answers. The big question
here is to explain our modern "economic civilization"--the
transformation of our life worldwide. Most writiers have dealt with
the "how"--the conditions of its emergence, take-off, and sustained
growth. Greenfeld attempts the "why." Though called "the spirit of
capitalism," in deference to Max Weber, she goes beyond Weber in
arguing that nationalism, as a form of collective consciousness, is
the cause of this great historical change, a bold and long foray.
Those who feel that the social sciences should confront the big
questions should not ignore this book. -- Daniel Bell, Harvard
University
The Spirit of Capitalism offers an important thesis which it
defends with rigor and passion. It links nationalism to the market
society in complex ways. Liah Greenfeld's challenging, historically
buttressed argument is bound to attract a wide and attentive
audience. -- Suzanne Keller, Princeton University
Greenfeld offers a riveting follow-up to Nationalism: Five Roads
to Modernity. Here she seeks to answer three questions: what
caused the emergence of the modern economy, what made the economic
sphere so dominant; and what are the reasons for sustained economic
growth? Her fundamental proposition is that nationalism is
responsible for the reorientation of economic activity toward
growth. She strengthens her argument by focusing on the periods of
emergence of the modern economy in England, France, Germany, Japan,
and the United States. In addition, she adeptly addresses the
concerns of critics of her previous work by including an in-depth
look at Japanese nationalism and the roles that economics and
diplomacy have played in fostering nationalism in her five primary
subjects plus the Netherlands and Russia. Although her approach is
unorthodox, the quality of her research and the richness of her
arguments should be challenging to the various economists,
historians, philosophers, and other social scientists who often
need to be stimulated by the writing of those outside their
disciplines. Highly recommended for both academic and public
libraries. -- Norm Hutcherson * Library Journal *
[An] important new book...Liah Greenfeld argues that patriotism, or
nationalism, may have a lot more to do with economic motivation
than you think. Most of us have come to accept the economist's view
of humanity: On the whole, we are rational actors; we are naturally
acquisitive; when political or social barriers are removed, most of
us will go off on a determined quest to make money and achieve ever
greater success. [Greenfeld] notes that [the] desire to make more
and more money is a recent and localized phenomenon. For most
people at most times and in most places, economic growth was not a
central or even an important goal. -- David Brooks * Wall Street
Journal *
The Spirit of Capitalism is an immensely refreshing
book...[It] deserves to bring about a paradigm shift in the
understanding of economic growth. -- John Gray * Times Literary
Supplement *
This is a learned if irreverent and enjoyable book that is rooted
in close study of several nations, and Greenfeld's command of
diverse historical sources is impressive...Greenfeld certainly
presents a scholarly and eloquent case for its importance. Her
chirpy and cheeky style is also refreshing in areas dominated by
somewhat arid economic historians. -- Frank Webster * Times Higher
Education Supplement *
Greenfeld (political science, Boston Univ.) offers a riveting follow-up to Nationalism: Five Roads to Modernity (Harvard Univ., 1992). Here she seeks to answer three questions: what caused the emergence of the modern economy, what made the economic sphere so dominant; and what are the reasons for sustained economic growth? Her fundamental proposition is that nationalism is responsible for the reorientation of economic activity toward growth. She strengthens her argument by focusing on the periods of emergence of the modern economy in England, France, Germany, Japan, and the United States. In addition, she adeptly addresses the concerns of critics of her previous work by including an in-depth look at Japanese nationalism and the roles that economics and diplomacy have played in fostering nationalism in her five primary subjects plus the Netherlands and Russia. Although her approach is unorthodox, the quality of her research and the richness of her arguments should be challenging to the various economists, historians, philosophers, and other social scientists who often need to be stimulated by the writing of those outside their disciplines. Highly recommended for both academic and public libraries. Norm Hutcherson, California State Univ., Bakersfield Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
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