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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Page 2
... population to 36 percent in May 2000. Most ominously of all, in the former communist nations capitalism has been found wanting, and men associated with old regimes stand poised to resume power. Some Americans sense too that one reason ...
... population to 36 percent in May 2000. Most ominously of all, in the former communist nations capitalism has been found wanting, and men associated with old regimes stand poised to resume power. Some Americans sense too that one reason ...
Page 15
... population, which is marked off as sharply from its Westernized elite as black and white South Africans were once separated by apartheid. This 80 percent majority is not, as Westerners often imagine, desperately impoverished. In spite ...
... population, which is marked off as sharply from its Westernized elite as black and white South Africans were once separated by apartheid. This 80 percent majority is not, as Westerners often imagine, desperately impoverished. In spite ...
Page 17
... population of the cities began to rise rapidly. In China alone, more than 100 million people have moved from the countryside to the cities since 1979. Between 1950 and 1988, the population of metropolitan Port-au-Prince rose from ...
... population of the cities began to rise rapidly. In China alone, more than 100 million people have moved from the countryside to the cities since 1979. Between 1950 and 1988, the population of metropolitan Port-au-Prince rose from ...
Page 18
... population concentrates in defined areas where no sanitation infrastructure is provided.... The sidewalks of the Avenue Dessalines are literally occupied by small vendors.... This town has become unlivable.”2 Few had anticipated this ...
... population concentrates in defined areas where no sanitation infrastructure is provided.... The sidewalks of the Avenue Dessalines are literally occupied by small vendors.... This town has become unlivable.”2 Few had anticipated this ...
Page 36
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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