The Origin of Capitalism
The Origin of Capitalism by Ellen Meiksins Woodby Ellen Meiksins Wood
Shares rank 2 of 5 economic history books by recommenders
Recommended for its account of how England and France moved from agrarian feudal mercantilism into capitalism. No critics appear in the quotes, so no caveat is recorded.
Recommended for its account of how England and France moved from agrarian feudal mercantilism into capitalism. No critics appear in the quotes, so no caveat is recorded.
3 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 3 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Clear account of England and France transition
“Highly recommend this book on the transition in England and France from agrarian and feudal mercantilism into capitalism”
Comment from 22 Nov 2025 in “'The French people want to save us': help pours in for glassmaker Duralex” Cited as intelligent counterargument
“a much more cited and intelligent opposition to what you're proposing”
Comment from 20 May 2026 in “We've made the world too complicated” Essential reading on the topic
“you need to read Meiksins Wood's 'The Origin of Capitalism'”
Comment from 12 Apr 2026 in “What have been the greatest intellectual achievements?”
Other economic history books people recommend
The four most recommended other economic history books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debtby David Graeber | 19 | 2 | 90% | 7 | — | Approved |
| The Origin of Capitalismby Ellen Meiksins WoodThis page | 3 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| The Great Transformationby Karl Polanyi | 3 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| The Rise and Fall of American Growthby Robert Gordon | 2 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| The Almighty Dollarby Brendan Greeley | 2 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
All 3 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“a much more cited and intelligent opposition to what you're proposing”
“you need to read Meiksins Wood's 'The Origin of Capitalism'”
“Highly recommend this book on the transition in England and France from agrarian and feudal mercantilism into capitalism”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.