bwaber@bookwyrm.social reviewed Slavery's Capitalism by Sven Beckert
An Excellent Collection of Research on the Connections Between Slavery and the US's Economic Development
4 stars
This book brings together a great group of scholars to analyze the economic aspects of slavery from a variety of perspectives - the development of modern management, building Northern wealth, building legal jurisprudence, and more. It's impossible to walk away from this book without a deep appreciation for how profoundly slavery was and in many ways still ingrained in the foundations of American society.
While some of the chapters are more of a historical play by play, many of the essays engage in probing analysis of slavery's influences on economic practices. For me the standout was the chapter by Daina Ramey Berry on human capital and enslaved mortality. Highly recommend