The Mystery of Capital, Hernando de Soto
The Mystery of Capital, Hernando de Soto
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The Mystery of Capital
Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else

Author: Hernando de Soto

Narrator: Bob Souer

Unabridged: 6 hr 52 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 05/28/2019


Synopsis

A renowned economist's classic book on capitalism in the developing world, showing how property rights are the key to overcoming poverty.

"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.

About Hernando de Soto

Hernando de Soto is President of the Institute for Liberty and Democracy, headquartered in Lima, Peru. Named one of the leading innovators in the world by Time and Forbes magazines, he now carries out property reform programs for heads of state in some twenty countries worldwide. His work was called "the most promising anti-poverty initiative in the world" by former President Bill Clinton and "a clear and promising alternative to economic stagnation" by former President George H. W. Bush. He is also the author of The Other Path.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Gordon on June 06, 2022

Written by a Peruvian author, this book is wonderfully enlightening for anyone interested in issues of 3rd World economic development. De Soto's central thesis is quite simple: you can't solve the problem of stagnant, poverty-stricken economies unless you figure out how to make credit available so t......more

Goodreads review by Mostafa on May 03, 2018

"چرا سرمایه‌داری در غرب موفق می‌شود و در جاهای دیگر شکست می‌خورد؟" شاید بهتر می‌بود که عنوان فرعی کتاب اینگونه باشد؛ "چرا سرمایه‌داری نمی‌تواند در تمام کشورها برپا شود؟" اگر سرمایه‌داری را نظامی بدانیم که مولفه‌هایش عبارت‌اند از حقوق مالکیت فردی، آزادی مبادله و فعالیت‌های اقتصادی، وجود بخش خصوصی و دخ......more

Goodreads review by Seth on June 19, 2008

Best Economic Development book I ever read. It's thought provoking and it resonates. Third World poverty could dramatically shrink if property owners had a legitimate claim to their real property. I thought micro lending was the answer to most of Latin America's problems (it still is a partial answe......more

Goodreads review by Rachel on July 02, 2009

This book explains the importance of property rights to the success of capitalist systems. In order for a society to use its assets to their fullest potential, it needs a legal system that transforms wealth into "living capital." "Living capital" can be leveraged to create further wealth: for exampl......more

Goodreads review by Vicky on August 17, 2007

everything your soc prof fails to consider......more