Description
Explore the intricate relationship between capitalism and Jewish history with 'Capitalism and the Jews' by Jerry Muller. This insightful book delves into how the Jewish experience has shaped and been shaped by capitalism, providing a necessary perspective often overlooked by mainstream historians. Through meticulous research, Muller uncovers the complex narrative that sees Jewish success in capitalist societies while also highlighting the anticapitalist sentiments prevalent among Jews themselves.
This book traces back from medieval Europe to contemporary America and Israel, drawing connections that illustrate the intertwined fates of Jews and capitalism. It reveals how the historical stigmatization of finance, rooted in ancient beliefs about money, has led to a profound understanding of both anti-Semitism and the anti-capitalist movements. This compelling narrative not only addresses the economic and social dimensions of Jewish experiences but also reflects on the political and intellectual climates that have influenced perceptions of capitalism.
Delve into the dynamics of ethnic nationalism and economic success, and understand why Jews, as a diasporic merchant minority, have faced unique challenges and opportunities throughout history. 'Capitalism and the Jews' is essential for anyone interested in the broader themes of capitalism, Jewish history, and the social-political environment shaping modern Europe and America.
Note: Shipping for this item is free. Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled. Condition: BRAND NEW. ISBN: 9780691153063. Format: Trade paperback (US). Year: 2012. Publisher: Princeton University Press.
Note: Shipping for this item is free. Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled.
Condition: BRAND NEW
ISBN: 9780691153063
Format: Trade paperback (US)
Year: 2012
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Description:
The unique historical relationship between capitalism and the Jews is crucial to understanding modern European and Jewish history. But the subject has been addressed less often by mainstream historians than by anti-Semites or apologists. In this book Jerry Muller, a leading historian of capitalism, separates myth from reality to explain why the Jewish experience with capitalism has been so important and complex--and so ambivalent. Drawing on economic, social, political, and intellectual history from medieval Europe through contemporary America and Israel, Capitalism and the Jews examines the ways in which thinking about capitalism and thinking about the Jews have gone hand in hand in European thought, and why anticapitalism and anti-Semitism have frequently been linked. The book explains why Jews have tended to be disproportionately successful in capitalist societies, but also why Jews have numbered among the fiercest anticapitalists and Communists. The book shows how the ancient idea that money was unproductive led from the stigmatization of usury and the Jews to the stigmatization of finance and, ultimately, in Marxism, the stigmatization of capitalism itself.
Finally, the book traces how the traditional status of the Jews as a diasporic merchant minority both encouraged their economic success and made them particularly vulnerable to the ethnic nationalism of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Providing a fresh look at an important but frequently misunderstood subject, Capitalism and the Jews will interest anyone who wants to understand the Jewish role in the development of capitalism, the role of capitalism in the modern fate
This book traces back from medieval Europe to contemporary America and Israel, drawing connections that illustrate the intertwined fates of Jews and capitalism. It reveals how the historical stigmatization of finance, rooted in ancient beliefs about money, has led to a profound understanding of both anti-Semitism and the anti-capitalist movements. This compelling narrative not only addresses the economic and social dimensions of Jewish experiences but also reflects on the political and intellectual climates that have influenced perceptions of capitalism.
Delve into the dynamics of ethnic nationalism and economic success, and understand why Jews, as a diasporic merchant minority, have faced unique challenges and opportunities throughout history. 'Capitalism and the Jews' is essential for anyone interested in the broader themes of capitalism, Jewish history, and the social-political environment shaping modern Europe and America.
Note: Shipping for this item is free. Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled. Condition: BRAND NEW. ISBN: 9780691153063. Format: Trade paperback (US). Year: 2012. Publisher: Princeton University Press.
Note: Shipping for this item is free. Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled.
Condition: BRAND NEW
ISBN: 9780691153063
Format: Trade paperback (US)
Year: 2012
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Description:
The unique historical relationship between capitalism and the Jews is crucial to understanding modern European and Jewish history. But the subject has been addressed less often by mainstream historians than by anti-Semites or apologists. In this book Jerry Muller, a leading historian of capitalism, separates myth from reality to explain why the Jewish experience with capitalism has been so important and complex--and so ambivalent. Drawing on economic, social, political, and intellectual history from medieval Europe through contemporary America and Israel, Capitalism and the Jews examines the ways in which thinking about capitalism and thinking about the Jews have gone hand in hand in European thought, and why anticapitalism and anti-Semitism have frequently been linked. The book explains why Jews have tended to be disproportionately successful in capitalist societies, but also why Jews have numbered among the fiercest anticapitalists and Communists. The book shows how the ancient idea that money was unproductive led from the stigmatization of usury and the Jews to the stigmatization of finance and, ultimately, in Marxism, the stigmatization of capitalism itself.
Finally, the book traces how the traditional status of the Jews as a diasporic merchant minority both encouraged their economic success and made them particularly vulnerable to the ethnic nationalism of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Providing a fresh look at an important but frequently misunderstood subject, Capitalism and the Jews will interest anyone who wants to understand the Jewish role in the development of capitalism, the role of capitalism in the modern fate