The Information Nexus

Steven Marks is Professor of History at Clemson University, South Carolina. He has written books and articles on Russian economic and cultural history, all with a comparative global focus, including How Russia Shaped the Modern World (2003), on the international reception of Russian ideas, and Road to Power (1991), on the creation of the Trans-Siberian Railway. The Information Nexus is the summation of his thinking on world economic history and the history of capitalism, subjects he has taught for more than twenty years. He received his PhD from Harvard University in 1988.

• Part I. 'Capitalism', Word and Concept: 1. Cries of pain: the word 'capitalism'; 2. 'Capitalism' in the mirror of the twentieth century; 3. The myths of capitalism; Part II. The Information Nexus: 4. Early modern Europe's expanding field of vision: the origins of capitalism; 5. Age of electricity and engines: America's mass market; 6. The digital age and the globalization of capitalism; Conclusion; Index.

'Steven G. Marks has written the best - and certainly the most compelling - single study of the historical origins of modern capitalism. This terrific book demolishes many hard-held beliefs and ideologies about capitalism, for instance that it is based on control of capital! Marks makes a skilful case that the way we organize and share information is central to the way we behave in politics but also in the economy.' Harold James, author of Family Capitalism and Making the European Monetary Union