Economic History, Historical Analysis, and the “New History of Capitalism”
评述十本资本主义史新著，指出其作为社会批评的洞见与不足，并建议经济史方法可加强该领域，促进两派学者对话。
This article presents a critical survey of ten books from the history of capitalism, a newly emerging subfield of history. At their best, the books offer provocative insights and vivid descriptions of some of the darker episodes of our economic past. Yet specious arguments and failures of analytical reasoning sometimes undermine these books' effectiveness as social criticism. I highlight insights from the field of economic history that would strengthen the work of historians of capitalism. I also suggest some opportunities for dialogue, if not collaboration, between the two communities of scholars.