Origins of Capitalism and the "Rise of the West"

"This small book, on a very big topic, makes a substantial contribution to the debates on which elements of European society were crucial to its later economic and military might.... One of the major assets of this book is that despite its brief length, it fully engages in comparisons of European history with developments in North Africa, China and south Asia.... Mielants has given us a deeply informed and important new twist on old arguments about the role of merchants and cities in the origins of capitalism. It is an argument that deserves attention and should provoke fruitful debates." -The British Journal of Sociology

• 1: Perspectives on the Origins of Merchant Capitalism in Europe; 2: The Political Economies of China and Europe Compared; 3: The Political Economies of South Asia and Europe Compared (c. 1200-1500 AD); 4: The Political Economies of Western Europe and Northern Africa Compared; 5: Conclusion Was the Western-European City-State in the Middle Ages a European Miracle?