Capitalism Is Not What You Think

In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks to Harvard professor Sven Beckert about his new book Capitalism: A Global History. Sven explains: Why the history of capitalism matters for understanding the present How most histories of capitalism are too Eurocentric How merchant communities in the medieval Muslim world and other regions laid the foundations of capitalism How European merchants learned from and interacted with merchants in the Muslim world Trust networks in global trade, including family, religious, and city-based merchant networks How capitalism and state power grew together European divergence: why Europe became central to capitalism Effects of Ottoman control and European geopolitical weakness on Atlantic expansion Role of conquest, slavery, and colonial expansion in building capitalist societies Tension between capitalism’s drive for unlimited growth and nature’s limits Challenges to neoliberalism from the left and the populist right Find Sven on Bluesky: @svenbeckert.bsky.social Visit Sven’s personal website: svenbeckert.com Join the Conflicted Community here: Find Conflicted on X: And Facebook: And Instagram: And YouTube: Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. This episode was produced and edited by Thomas Small. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Capitalism Is Not What You Think is an episode from CONFLICTED by Message Heard.

This episode is 69:26 long.

This episode was published on Mar 19, 2026.

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