Capitalism by Sven Beckert review – an extraordinary history of the economic system that controls our lives

www.theguardian.com

The Harvard professor provides a ceaseless flow of startling details in this exhaustively researched, 1000-year account

What Does “Capitalism” Really Mean, Anyway

www.newyorker.com

In a new global history, capitalism is an inescapable vibe—responsible for everything, everywhere, all at once.In September, 1639, John Winthrop, the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, recorded in his journal a dreadful tale of Puritan true crime. One Robert…

What Professional Organizers Know About Our Lives

The New Yorker

In 2012, when the anthropologist Carrie M. Lane would tell people that she was researching professional organizers, most pictured Sally Field as Norma Rae holding up a “Union” sign on a factory floor.

Chains of Credit: The Entrepreneurial Advantage of Slavery

JSTOR Daily

Slavery in the United States is usually thought of as a form of coerced labor, especially in agriculture, where the enslaved produced such economically important crops as cotton, rice, and tobacco.

The Russian Bot Army That Conquered Online Poker

“Feruell” is near the top of poker’s food chain. A professional from Russia, he makes a living gambling anonymously on GGPoker, Americas Cardroom and other sites, sometimes using Darth Vader as his avatar. Fellow sharks and smaller fish with money to lose are his prey.

This Is What Happens to All the Stuff You Don’t Want

The Atlantic

When you order a pair of sweatpants online and don’t want to keep them, a colossal, mostly opaque system of labor and machinery creaks into motion to find them a new place in the world.

Extracting Coca-Cola: An Environmental History

JSTOR Daily

A charismatic soda and the branding to match, Coca-Cola is more than just a beverage. Today, the Coca-Cola Company is one of the largest food and beverage corporations, reporting nearly $10 billion in profits in 2023. But, as historian Bartow J.

The Battle for the Soul of Buy Nothing

WIRED

When my son was little, my mom started collecting his outgrown clothes to give to strangers on the internet. She would meet these people through Buy Nothing, a project that had been created by two women from Bainbridge Island, Washington, not far from her home in Seattle.

The Getty Family’s Trust Issues

The New Yorker

For the very rich, private wealth managers are in a separate class from other retainers, even from the trusted pilots, chefs, and attendants who maintain their life styles.

The Crypto Collapse and the End of the Magical Thinking That Infected Capitalism

At a guest lecture at a military academy when the price of a single Bitcoin neared $60,000, I was asked, as finance professors often are, what I thought about cryptocurrencies. Rather than respond with my usual skepticism, I polled the students.

At Columbia’s $600 Million Business School, Time to Rethink Capitalism

One zigs, the other zags. One teases the passer-by with bands of translucent glass wrapping a core of clear windows; the other, with floors angled in and out — a gentle architectural mambo.

Aspen Has Been Overrun By Zillionaires. Has the Town Lost Its Gonzo Soul?

Outside Online

Aspen Times

Why the super rich are inevitable

Why do super rich people exist in a society? Many of us assume it's because some people make better financial decisions. But what if this isn't true? What if the economy – our economy – is designed to create a few super rich people?

Can High-End Tourism Help the Environment?

Outside Online

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The Blackstone rebellion: how one country took on the world’s biggest commercial landlord

the Guardian

Blackstone is the largest commercial landlord in history. Over the past two decades, it has quietly taken control of apartment blocks, care homes, student housing, railway arches, film studios, offices, hotels, logistics warehouses and datacentres.

How the Bass Pro Shops Pyramid Became a Memphis Icon

Outside Online

USA TodayFor the Win

The Case of the $5,000 Springsteen Tickets

Triumphant fans showed up in Ticketmaster’s queue with special codes, only to encounter its “dynamic pricing” system. Was the Boss OK with that?