Previous edition published: New York: Monthly Review Press, A1999.

A new edition of the classic and succinct guide to how capitalism was formed, which will appeal to both students and the interested lay person.

“The Origin of Capitalism was one of those ‘Aha!’ moments. Wood was an extraordinarily rigorous and imaginative thinker, someone who breathed life into Marxist political theory and made it speak—not to just to me but to many others—at multiple levels: historical, theoretical, political.”
—Corey Robin, Jacobin

“The writing is so supple and accessible, and the argument so persuasive, it’s like watching a cloudy mixture of ideas being turned into a clear solution.”
—Adrienne Rich

“This extremely valuable book offers an insightful tour of the historical debates surrounding the transition from feudalism to capitalism … a must-read for anyone with even the remotest interest in the origins of capitalism, or economic thought in general, from undergraduates through professionals.”
—Choice

“Brilliant book … Into the central thread of her argument, Ellen Meiksins Wood has woven a wonderfully rich texture of comment on the arguments and debates that preceded her … not just a valuable new interpretation of an old history, it carries important lessons for our own times.”
—Spokesman