The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere ElseA renowned economist argues for the importance of property rights in "the most intelligent book yet written about the current challenge of establishing capitalism in the developing world" (Economist) "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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... people everywhere have been demanding. . . . [The Mystery of Capital] is a significant contribution to understanding how the poorest nations can use their own legal system to manage their way out of poverty.” —The Globe and Mail ...
... people everywhere have been demanding. . . . [The Mystery of Capital] is a significant contribution to understanding how the poorest nations can use their own legal system to manage their way out of poverty.” —The Globe and Mail ...
Page 4
... peoples for their lack of entrepreneurial spirit or market orientation. If they have failed to prosper despite all ... people want the fruits of capital—so much so that many, from the children of Sanchez to Khrushchev's son, are flocking ...
... peoples for their lack of entrepreneurial spirit or market orientation. If they have failed to prosper despite all ... people want the fruits of capital—so much so that many, from the children of Sanchez to Khrushchev's son, are flocking ...
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... people of Cairo have access to all those things. What you are really leaving behind is the world of legally enforceable transactions on property rights. Mortgages and accountable addresses to generate additional wealth are unavailable ...
... people of Cairo have access to all those things. What you are really leaving behind is the world of legally enforceable transactions on property rights. Mortgages and accountable addresses to generate additional wealth are unavailable ...
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... people were trundling down the newly built highways to the cities so alluringly described in the new radio programs. The population of the cities began to rise rapidly. In China alone, more than 100 million people have moved from the ...
... people were trundling down the newly built highways to the cities so alluringly described in the new radio programs. The population of the cities began to rise rapidly. In China alone, more than 100 million people have moved from the ...
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... people live in shantytowns. Experts were already in despair over this surge of new city dwellers as early as 1973, long before the largest influx had taken place. “Everything happens as if the city were falling apart,” wrote one ...
... people live in shantytowns. Experts were already in despair over this surge of new city dwellers as early as 1973, long before the largest influx had taken place. “Everything happens as if the city were falling apart,” wrote one ...
Contents
1 | |
15 | |
C H A P T E R T H R E E The Mystery of Capital | 39 |
C H A P T E R F O U R The Mystery of Political Awareness | 69 |
C HAP T E R F I V E The Missing Lessons of US History | 105 |
C H A P T E R S I X The Mystery of Legal Failure | 153 |
C HAP T E R S EV E N By Way of Conclusion | 207 |
Notes | 229 |
Acknowledgments | 241 |
Appendix | 249 |
Index | 259 |
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Common terms and phrases
advanced nations American apartheid areas assets bell jar buildings capitalist 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 property extralegal sector extralegal social contracts formal law formal property system former communist countries former communist nations fungible global Haiti Hernando de Soto Ibid illegal industrial institutions investment land lawyers legal property system legal system live maps Marx ment Michel Foucault migrants million miners Mystery of Capital nomic official law organizations owners ownership people’s percent Peru political politicians poor population Port-au-Prince potential preemption problem production property arrangements property law property rights protect real estate records reform Revolution rules Rural settlement settlers social contracts society squatters squatting surplus value Third World tion tomahawk rights Total transactions undercapitalized United urban West World and former