| How much do you really know about the history of | | | | How free and open markets with shops, distributors, |
| economics and free trade? I feel as if I know more | | | | traders, dealers, salesmen, bankers, and even what |
| than 99% of the people on the planet, but perhaps | | | | might now be considered a stock market in |
| that's because I've studied a three-part volume | | | | Amsterdam were only the beginning. This book tells |
| entitled the wheels of commerce. I think you should | | | | of the London Royal Exchange, French and Dutch |
| pick up a set for yourself. If you'd like to learn more | | | | banking, and the exchanges of paper money and |
| let me explain what I mean and describe to you | | | | distribution in China, bankers and India, and the ships |
| what's in volume 2 as an example; | | | | that distributing goods, and those using the silk Roads |
| "The Wheels of Commerce - Civilization and | | | | all participated in what we consider today to be global |
| Capitalism; 15th through 18th Century, Volume 2" by | | | | trade. |
| Ferdinand Braudel, 1979. | | | | The book explains merchants and trading circuits, and |
| The 15th and 18th Century is when capitalism really | | | | self-regulating markets. During this time were the first |
| took off. In this particular second volume we see the | | | | uses of the words; capital, capitalist, capitalism. It is |
| slow evolution towards what we consider today to | | | | interesting that most economic textbooks have a |
| be economics. The first volume explained how | | | | brief chapter or two perhaps on how it all got |
| "economic life" started and how using a unit of trade | | | | started, but it is very interesting to read a huge |
| increased and individual's, or family's quality-of-life. | | | | three volumes set of books on the subject. It's |
| Now, in this volume we see how cross roads became | | | | amazing to me that we do not teach economics as |
| trading points for villages, towns, and cities and how | | | | we used to in the schools, and I bet if we did, we |
| the wheels of commerce started turning. | | | | wouldn't have the types of economic crisis as we do |
| Indeed, this is a tale of economic history; how | | | | today. I hope you please consider all this. |
| capitalism and trading changed everything forever. | | | | |