Historian Sven Beckert argues that capitalism did not originate in Europe and spread outward. Its very existence from the start depended on planetary connections and co-production between many cultures, making it inherently global from its inception, not a Western invention.
Historian Sven Beckert frames capitalism as a constantly shape-shifting system. Its dramatic evolution over 1,000 years—from colonial models to Keynesianism—suggests the current neoliberal order is not a permanent state but will likely be replaced by a substantially different version.
Basic efficiency—doing things in bulk is cheaper—drives the growth of massive index and private equity funds. Harvard's John Coates argues this economic good creates a political problem, as the resulting concentration of influence in a few firms is at odds with the democratic principle of dispersed power.
Harvard's John Coates reveals that 'private' equity funds primarily invest public money from pensions and endowments. The 'private' label is a brilliant marketing strategy that allows them to avoid the public disclosure and scrutiny that should accompany managing millions of workers' savings.
Created to help ordinary Americans invest cheaply, index funds became so successful that the top four now own over 25% of most large U.S. companies. According to Harvard's John Coates, this runaway success has given them massive, unintended power over corporate governance without a mandate to wield it.