The book traces the origins of capitalism right from the trading days of East India Company. It discusses the presence of feudalism, its slow transformation into socialism, and finally its metamorphosis into capitalism. Once there, James does a great job of dissecting the facets of capitalism and the various forces that defines its nature - politics, business, labor unions, markets, currency, and others. He does this by comparing three distinct forms of capitalism - Swedish, British, and Japanese. Slowly the pieces of the puzzle start falling together.

In the last chapter, he discusses the various crises that have fallen upon/by capitalism. Per him, crisis is a by-product of this system and cannot be avoided. Thanks to the ever volatile consumer demand, never ending profit increasing, and the human nature in general. Economics 101 - Every person will act in order to maximize his/her profit.

This book is very lucidly written and I would suggest all to give this book a try and keep it in your book shelf, if possible. I cannot say that I am a master of this subject, but it has nevertheless built a foundation for me to develop my knowledge and make informed opinions about the events happening around me.