Reddit reviews The Mystery Of Capital Why Capitalism Succeeds In The West And Fails Everywhere Else

I enjoyed Hernando de Soto's "The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else"

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0465016146/103-9921502-0879049?v=glance&n=283155

If by "culture" you mean "the government-led stifling of private enterprise", I'd have to agree with you.

The Mystery of Capital by de Soto is one of the best books for understanding legal structures and their place in making capitalism work. He is great at writing so non economists can understand. I always recommend this book to all my non-econ friends.

One book that does a good job is The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else. Your library should have a copy.

Or, if that's too much effort, how about some bullet points for an outline:

• history of capitalism.
  
• conflicts with religion: christianity and islam. How capitalism was considered a violation of scripture and how christianity changed to be compatible with capitalism during the reformation and why islam didn't (hint: they can't have a reformation).
  
• conflicts with labor, enclosure laws and subsequent "industrial revolution".
  
• where does capitalism "work" and where does it not work? Any similarities? Were Marx's claims ever valid?
  
• America's jihad against anti-capitalism and anti-capitalist government structures (such as "communism"). In view of Islam's prohibition against interest, does this mean that the "war against terror" will ever end?
  
  You might also want to ask this over on /r/economics.

You might find Karl Marx a fun read if you're curious. In Capital, vol 1 #3 plays a significant or even primary role in the development of capitalism, which I think is for the most part true.

Another good read is The Mystery of Capital (definitely not a Marxist book) which notes that part of the disparity between the 'developed' and 'developing' world is that there is all kinds of wealth in the developing world that is simply unaccounted for (property rights, for instance), and in a sense, the success of capitalism in the developing world depends on how well capitalism can be exported. You could argue Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace prize for finding a workable way to export capitalism.

>I would also argue that the world looks a hell of a lot different from a cul-de-sac in the suburban United States than it does from the point of view of a landless campesino in Latin America.

It was precisely a latin american expert who wrote the book: http://www.amazon.com/The-Mystery-Capital-Capitalism-Everywhere/dp/0465016146 that explains exactly why the "landless" poor are not really landless, but the problem is that the government refuses to acknowledge their homestead rights in favor of a collectivist system of property.

>... what the imf did to the third world ...

Develop its industry? Build its infrastructure? Seed its capital markets? Bring its population from malaria-ridden jungles and into cities? Those heartless globalizing bastards!

But seriously though, get educated:

Niall Ferguson:
http://www.amazon.com/Ascent-Money-Financial-History-World/dp/1594201927

Milton Friedman:
http://www.amazon.com/Capitalism-Freedom-Anniversary-Milton-Friedman/dp/0226264211

Matt Ridley:
http://www.amazon.com/Rational-Optimist-How-Prosperity-Evolves/dp/006145205X

Hernando De Soto:
http://www.amazon.com/Mystery-Capital-Capitalism-Triumphs-Everywhere/dp/0465016146