The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else

by Hernando De Soto

Overview

A 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780465016150
Publisher:	Basic Books
Publication date:	07/09/2003
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	149,678
Product dimensions:	5.38(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.75(d)
Lexile:	1460L (what's this?)

About the Author

Hernando de Soto is President of the Institute for Liberty and Democracy (ILD), headquartered in Lima, Peru. He was named one of the five leading Latin American innovators of the century by Time magazine in its May 1999 issue on "Leaders for the New Millennium." De Soto played an integral role in the modernization of Peru's economic and political system as President Alberto Fujimori's Personal Representative and Principal Adviser.

His previous book, The Other Path, was a bestseller throughout Latin America and the U.S. He and ILD are currently working on the practical implementation of the measures for bringing the poor into the economic mainstream introduced in The Mystery of Capital. He lives in Lima, Peru.

Table of Contents

Chapter One: The Five Mysteries of Capital
Chapter Two: The Mystery of Missing Information
Chapter Three: The Mystery of Capital
Chapter Four: The Mystery of Political Awareness
Chapter Five: The Missing Lessons of U. S. History
Chapter Six: The Mystery of Legal Failure
Chapter Seven: By Way of Concluion

What People are Saying About This

Ronald Coase

A very great book...powerful and completely convincing. It will have a salutary effect on the views held on economic development. (Ronald Coase, Nobel Laureate in Economics)

Jeane Kirkpatrick

Following on his extraordinary and highly original book The Other Path... this book, too, is another tour de force. (Jeane Kirkpatrick, Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations)

William F. Buckley Jr.

This book changes our understanding of where capital comes from. The consequences could be world-shattering. (William F. Buckley Jr., Founder-Editor of the National Review)

Lord David Owen

Fresh thinking is rare - this book has the capacity to transform economies . . .. (Lord David Owen, Former Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, European Union Chairman of the International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia)

Javier Perez de Cuellar

A crucial contribution. A new proposal for change that is valid for the whole world. (Javier Perez de Cuellar, Former Secretary of the United Nations)

Lady Margaret Thatcher

It should be compulsory reading for all in charge of the 'Wealth of Nations. (Lady Margaret Thatcher, Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom)

Francis Fukuyama

. . . one of the few new and genuinely promising approaches to overcoming poverty to come along in a very long time.(Francis Fukuyama, author of The End of History and The Last Man)

Senator Bill Bradley

For policy-makers, international investors, and those who care about the challenges of developing countries. . .

Editorial Reviews

"The blueprint for a new industrial revolution."—The Times (London)

"The most intelligent book yet written about the current challenge of establishing capitalism in the developing world."—Economist

"The Mystery of Capital makes a powerful case...An important book."—Washington Post Book World

"If a nonmathematician can win a Nobel Prize in Economics, I nominate de Soto."—Lawrence Minard, Forbes Global

"In his smart new book, The Mystery of Capital, de Soto answers the question why capitalism succeeds in the West and fails in so many other places."—Thomas Friedman, New York Times

"Some books are good, some are bad, but very few are real gems. One of the few gems is the recently published book, The Mystery of Capital."—Thomas Sowell

From the Publisher

If a nonmathematician can win a Nobel Prize in Economics, I nominate de Soto.
—(Editor-in-Chief, Forbes Global)

Laurence Minoral

An increasingly important economist provides a fascinating lesson in why capitalism works by looking at the places where it doesn't.

Industry Standard

It is one of the most provocative and potentially important works on development to appear in some time.

Raleigh News & Observer

. . .a challenging and fresh thinking theory that flies in the face of traditional notions of Third World poverty.

Bookpage

. . .a significant contribution to understanding how the poorest nations can use their own legal system to manage their way out of poverty.

Globe and Mail

". . .de Soto convincingly demonstrates, the road to worldwide prosperity requires not restraining capitalism but making it universal.

Commentary

The most intelligent book yet written about the current challenge of establishing capitalism in the developing world.

Economist

. . .impassioned and thoughtful. .

Los Angeles Times Book Review

. . . [de Soto] performs a valuable service. .

Business Week

A provocative and revolutionary analysis of the nature of capital, the ineffectiveness of capitalistic reform in developing nations, and the ways in which those countries can harness their latent economic potential.

Kirkus Reviews