This brilliant study opposes the Marxist concept of dialectical materialism and its view that change takes place through the conflict of opposites. Instead, Weber relates the rise of a capitalist economy to the Puritan determination to work out anxiety over salvation or damnation by performing good deeds — an effort that ultimately encouraged capitalism. Unabridged republication of the edition published by Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1958.
General Economic History by Max Weber Starting with descriptions and analyses of the agrarian systems, the famed economist explores manorial system, guilds, and early capitalism, organization of industry and mining, development of commerce, the transporting of goods, and more.
The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen Classic of economic and social theory offers satiric examination of the hollowness and falsity suggested by the term "conspicuous consumption," exposing the emptiness of many standards of taste, education, dress, and culture.
The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life by Émile Durkheim, Joseph Ward Swain A founder of modern sociology examines animism, naturism, totemism, myth, and ritual in this 1912 classic, which traces the source of religion and morality to a collective consciousness.
The Acquisitive Society by R. H. Tawney This 1920 survey, written by a distinguished critic, examines the subject of economic inequality as a by-product of the rise of capitalism, arguing that material acquisitiveness is morally wrong and a corrupting social influence.
An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States by Charles A. Beard This classic study — one of the most influential in the area of American economic history — questioned the founding fathers' motivations and prompted new perceptions of the supreme law of the land.
