Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Thinking about Capitalism cover art

Thinking about Capitalism

By: Jerry Z. Muller, The Great Courses
Narrated by: Jerry Z. Muller
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Buy Now for £30.99

Buy Now for £30.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Thinking Like an Economist: A Guide to Rational Decision Making cover art
The American Civil War cover art
Macroeconomics Made Clear cover art
The Foundations of Western Civilization cover art
Understanding the Mysteries of Human Behavior cover art
No Excuses: Existentialism and the Meaning of Life cover art
Identity cover art
Understanding Power cover art
Capital in the Twenty-First Century cover art
The Righteous Mind cover art
Intellectuals and Race cover art
Black Rednecks and White Liberals cover art
Intellectuals and Society cover art
Applied Economics cover art
The Price of Inequality cover art
American Nations cover art

Summary

In these 36 engaging lectures, Professor Muller takes you deep inside the perspectives on this most important and pervasive force. You'll gain fresh insights that will strengthen your understanding of capitalism's rich history, its fascinating proponents and opponents, and its startling impact on our world.

These lectures take you beyond economic analysis to look at how some of the greatest intellects have thought about capitalism and its moral, political, and cultural ramifications. Covering capitalism from its 17th-century beginnings to today's era of globalization, Professor Muller explores some wide-ranging questions. What effect does capitalism have on personal development? What about the seemingly unending variety of consumer goods made possible by capitalism? Do the facts support our tendency to think about capitalism as the economic system practiced in "free" countries? Or can capitalism exist in a wide variety of political systems? These are just a few of the many provocative and absorbing questions and issues you'll untangle here.

By placing capitalism in its full societal context, these lectures will enhance your ability to consider, discuss, and answer these and other critical questions - whatever your point of view. Genial and disarming, Professor Muller connects the dots from idea to idea, thinker to thinker, and helps you finally grasp the history and the concepts of this vital economic system, as well as its importance on the global economic stage and in your own life.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2008 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2008 The Great Courses

More from the same

What listeners say about Thinking about Capitalism

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    43
  • 4 Stars
    13
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    37
  • 4 Stars
    12
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    38
  • 4 Stars
    10
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Illuminating

Prof. Muller is incredible at illuminating past thinkers' ideas about Capitalism.
This is really a course about how great thinkers have though about Capitalism.
I could not recommend it more.
Amazing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great

Loved it, it was really engaging and just flew by. It could benefit a bit from some modern theory, development or an analysis of the financial crisis, as it seemed to go up to thinking in the 70's (although it was more modern in developmental economics)

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant tour of the thinking

A thought provoking course, which has completely changed the way I think about capitalism, what it is, what it does and the effects it has on us.
Highly recommended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great book!

Amazing review of the current economic system, it's social and philosophical footings and how was evolved the last 500 years. It tends to be rather soft to its critic on the negative implications to civilisation.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Thorough summation of 150 years economic thought

So easy to turn in an listen to chapter after chapter. Thoughtfully put together to give a very clear progression of how the philosophy of economics has developed over time. You can't help but come away from this with a profound understanding of the background to today's policies and difficulties.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Absorbing and Informative

This series of lectures gave me exactly what I was looking for, a broad introduction to the history and philosophy of capitalism. Highly recommended for any looking to build a foundation of understanding from which to explore.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Interesting and informative

One of the most interesting lecture series I've listened to. It explains the dynamism of capitalism and its impact on modern societies. Before listening to this I understood that a combination of capitalism and science had given us the world that we live in; now I understand how capitalism and the free market have driven the establishment of many of the basic rights we take for granted such as Universal suffrage, education, equality and the rule of law. One of the ideas that sticks in my mind is that whilst many types of political systems have tried to harness aspects of capitalism with varying success, all liberal democracies are capitalist in nature.
If you've an interest in the subject matter I highly recommend this exceptional lecture series.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very interesting lectures

A clear and engaging set of lectures that raise awareness of how politics, philosophy, culture and capitalism are interlinked along with an exploration of the pro and anti capitalism perspectives. Anyone studying A’level Sociology should listen to these lectures.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Just a bit too much on th right for my taste

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Depnding on what they are looking for. The author talks about the points of view of many clasic phylosophers and economists about capitalism but avoids dealing with contemporary issues I was more interested on like the inestability of the financial sector or how capitalism affects climate change. In my opinion the author is a bit too much on the right for my own taste.

Would you be willing to try another book from The Great Courses? Why or why not?

Yes, I listened to some before and I will do so in the future, possibly not in economics though.

What does Professor Jerry Z. Muller bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Nothing, this isn't conceived as a book but a series of lectures so it wouldn't work in any other way.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Not much, it's quite factual.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The best on Great Courses

This is my favourite course in the great courses series. I've listened to it two times from start to finish and use it as reference for my essays very often. It's absolutely essential for everyone interested in the topic of international political economy.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!