Krishna Bharadwaj and Sudipta Kaviraj (eels) Perspectives on Capitalism - Marx, Keynes, Schumpeter and Weber. New Delhi. Sage Publications. 1989. pp.265 + Index. Price: Rs 190.00 (Hardbound) and Rs 90.00 (paperbound).

As a socio-economic world system, capitalism has undergonevarious historical changes from its early competitive market phase tolate monopo~y capitalism. In its early phase, it largely constituted aprocess of transition gradually emerging from the feudal mode ofproduction, which laid heavy restrictions on the new class of risingindustrialists, businessmen, and merchants. Classical economists werethe ideological champions of these progressive social classes;progressive as compared to the erstwhile feudal and monarchical classes.Karl Marx's critique of capitalism was an explanation of how capitalismas a growing socio-economic organism evolved from the pre-capitalistfeudal order and was leading towards higher socio-economic formations.In this analysis of the capitalist economic system, Marx laid bare itsinternal contradictions and its crisis-ridden anarchic production, whichin his view would inevitably yield place to socialism. His thesis wasconfirmed by the social revolutions which occurred after his death in1883. He was witness to a period of capitalism which produced misery andpauperization of the working classes on a large scale, and wealth andprosperity for a tiny but powerful class of capitalists of variouscategories.