Introduction and Major Propositions

The expansion of capitalism from its local confinements to its global scale has led to profound changes in the lives of countless millions. Through all of its chaotic development, dramatic transformations and local variations, spanning more than two centuries, several patterns are discernible. Economic output has grown exponentially and material wealth has accumulated to historically unprecedented levels. At the same time the total wage share of this output has varied within a fairly narrow range. But the resulting rapid improvements of material living standards have also been coupled with poverty, misery, and degradation in vast areas. Profit levels, measured as returns on capital, have varied dramatically across individual assets and steer the direction of development.