HSE Publishing House

The book of a historian and sociologist Boris Kagarlitsky is dedicated the establishment of a modern state and its role in the formation of capitalism. Analyzing the development of leading European empires and the United States of America, the author shows how far from the truth are the myths of the spontaneous emergence of the market economy and the role of the government as a disincentive to private initiative, when for centuries the state power have been carrying out a “coercing to the market” with all its strength.

This book draws from a wide range of sources, including British and American periodicals of the 18th and 19th centuries. It is addressed at specialists in the field of history and sociology, as well as to a wider group of readers.