The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere ElseA renowned economist's classic book on capitalism in the developing world, showing how property rights are the key to overcoming poverty "The hour of capitalism's greatest triumph," writes Hernando de Soto, "is, in the eyes of four-fifths of humanity, its hour of crisis." In The Mystery of Capital, the world-famous Peruvian economist takes up one of the most pressing questions the world faces today: Why do some countries succeed at capitalism while others fail? In strong opposition to the popular view that success is determined by cultural differences, de Soto finds that it actually has everything to do with the legal structure of property and property rights. Every developed nation in the world at one time went through the transformation from predominantly extralegal property arrangements, such as squatting on large estates, to a formal, unified legal property system. In the West we've forgotten that creating this system is what allowed people everywhere to leverage property into wealth. This persuasive book revolutionized our understanding of capital and points the way to a major transformation of the world economy. |
From inside the book
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Page 102
... politicians to adapt to the facts on the ground . The law had ossified at about the same rate as the migrant settlements encircled the cities . And as peddlers , beggars , and thieves invaded the streets , as extralegally manufactured ...
... politicians to adapt to the facts on the ground . The law had ossified at about the same rate as the migrant settlements encircled the cities . And as peddlers , beggars , and thieves invaded the streets , as extralegally manufactured ...
Page 118
... politicians tolerated the rapid increase in squatters in distant Maine . After the Revolution , however , with its treasury bankrupt and its currency depreciated , Massachusetts politicians looked upon the vast lands of Maine as a major ...
... politicians tolerated the rapid increase in squatters in distant Maine . After the Revolution , however , with its treasury bankrupt and its currency depreciated , Massachusetts politicians looked upon the vast lands of Maine as a major ...
Page 130
... politicians thus had three choices . They could continue to try to thwart or ignore extralegals , grudgingly make conces- sions , or become champions of extralegal rights . The expansion of occupancy laws - recognizing a right to land ...
... politicians thus had three choices . They could continue to try to thwart or ignore extralegals , grudgingly make conces- sions , or become champions of extralegal rights . The expansion of occupancy laws - recognizing a right to land ...
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Common terms and phrases
Adam Smith advanced nations American apartheid areas bell jar bidonvilles buildings capitalist century cities claim associations Claim Clubs colonial Congress create capital dead capital developing and former developing countries economic elites enforce entrepreneurs erty extrale extralegal arrangements extralegal assets extralegal property extralegal sector extralegal social contracts formal law formal property system former communist countries former communist nations fungible global Haiti Hernando de Soto housing Ibid illegal institutions investment land lawyers legal property system legal system live maps Marx ment migrants million miners Mystery of Capital nomic Office organizations owners ownership percent Peru political politicians poor population Port-au-Prince potential preemption procedures production property arrangements property law property rights protect real estate records reform Registry representations Revolution rules Rural settlement settlers social contracts society squatters squatting statutes surplus value Third World tion tomahawk rights transactions United urban West World and former