Reddit mentions of The Origin of Capitalism: A Longer View

I like this one but I certainly didn't come up with it:

>"Capitalism is a system in which goods and services, down to the most basic necessities of life, are produced for profitable exchange, where even human labour-power is a commodity for sale in the market, and where all economic actors are dependent on the market. This is true not only of workers, who must sell their labour-power for a wage, but also of capitalists, who depend on the market to buy their input, including labour-power, and to sell their output for profit. Capitalism differs from other social forms because producers depend on the market for access to the means of production (unlike, for instance, peasants, who remain in direct, non-market possession of land); while appropriation cannot rely on ‘extra-economic’ powers of appropriation by means of direct coercion - such as the military, political, and judicial powers that enable feudal lords to extract surplus labour from peasants - but must depend on the purely ‘economic’ mechanism of the market. This distinct system of market dependence means that the requirements of competition and profit-maximization are the fundamental rules of life. Because of those rules, capitalism is a system uniquely driven to improve the productivity of labour by technical means. Above all, it is a system in which the bulk of society’s work is done by propertyless laborers who are obliged to sell their labour-power in exchange for a wage in order to gain access to the means of life and of labour itself. In the process of supplying the needs and wants of society, workers are at the same time and inseparably creating profits for those who buy their labour-power. In fact, the production of goods and services is subordinate to the production of capital and capitalist profit. The basic objective of the capitalist system, in other words, is the production and self-expansion of capital." - Ellen Meiskin Wood The Origin of Capitlaism

I think it's a pretty concrete definition of Capitalism that takes appropriate account of its many relations (borrowing some Marxist jargon). But it's pretty comprehensive and provided by a real authority in the matter. I respect Wood's work and really recommend The Origin of Capitalism. Also i've seen this definition thrown out there a lot by Marxists on this sub I like so it seemed to fit here.

There are essentially 3 models:

1. The classical model of European commerce gradually developing into capitalism overtime through the growth of urban centres as places of business.
   
   
2. The protestant work ethic, which ends up making the impetuous for capitalism a psychological one unique to England.
   
   
3. The historical specificity model, which agrees with Webber that capitalism arose in England, but locates its impetuous in England's economic responses given its unique political structure. I find this model to be by far the most convincing, but by all means read Ellen Wood's introductory book. It's well-written for an easy read and, even if you don't come to agree, it'll give you something to think about.

https://www.amazon.com/Origin-Capitalism-Longer-View/dp/1859843921

This is a good, relatively easy, read that does a pretty good job with that very subject.