Table Of Content‘This book is an engaging investigation of the received wisdom – and received
prejudices – about capitalism, neoliberalism, markets, and market activity. With
subtlety and nuance, it shows that much of this received wisdom does not stand
up to investigation. People of all ideological stripes will learn something from –
and be challenged by – this book. It deserves to be read by all those working on
the moral foundations of market society.’
Jason Brennan, Georgetown University, Washington
CAPITALISM FOR REALISTS
In an age of extreme political polarization and waning of reasoned debate across
political divides, Capitalism for Realists carefully explores the inner workings of
capitalism in a consciously non-partisan and balanced way. Does the modern
capitalist economy alleviate poverty and exploitation, or exacerbate them? What,
exactly, is ‘neoliberalism,’ and how well or poorly has it performed in the past
40 years? Does capitalism undermine democracy, or is it rather one of its key
necessary conditions? How have altruism, cooperation, tolerance, violence, and
trust fared under the influence of the modern market society? Should we analyse
capitalism through the mainstream economic lens or a more critical Marxist
perspective? This book offers answers to these questions.
Synthesizing decades of research across disciplines, Capitalism for Realists offers
an overarching perspective on the modern economy by theoretically unifying
many of the claims and conclusions about it offered by various traditionally ri-
valrous social science paradigms, such as institutional, neoclassical, and public
choice economics on the one hand, and Marxist sociology on the other. The
book presents and critically assesses the latest data and debates on such crucial
contemporary issues as the relationship between poverty, exploitation, inequal-
ity, and capitalism, the nature of ‘neoliberalism’ and the successes and failures of
both state-led industrial policy and the Washington consensus, capitalist peace
theory, historical origins of modern capitalism, and more. What emerges is a
clear picture of the merits and demerits of the modern economy too nuanced to
be simplified and categorized by the prevailing political discourses.
Rich in empirical detail, this lively, accessible book will appeal to undergraduate
and graduate students with interests in sociological theory, political theory,
economics, and political and economic sociology.
Tibor Rutar is Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at the
University of Maribor, Slovenia, and author of Rational Choice and Democratic
Government: A Sociological Approach (Routledge, 2021).
Routledge Studies in Political Sociology
This series presents the latest research in political sociology. It welcomes both
theoretical and empirical studies that pay close attention to the dynamics of
power, popular protest and social movements, as well as work that engages in
debates surrounding globalisation, democracy and political economy.
Capitalism for Realists
Virtues and Vices of the Modern Economy
Tibor Rutar
Multiculturalism and the Nation in Germany
A Study in Moral Conflict
Paul Carls
The Contentious Politics of Expertise
Expert, Activism and Grassroots Environmentalism
Riccardo Emilio Chesta
Political Legitimacy
Realism in Political Theory and Sociology
Terje Rasmussen
Comparing and Contrasting the Impact of the COVID-19
Pandemic in the European Union
Linda Hantrais, Marie-Thérèse Letablier
The Political Attitudes of Divided European Citizens
Public Opinion and Social Inequalities in Comparative and Relational Perspective
Christian Lahusen
CAPITALISM FOR
REALISTS
Virtues and Vices of the
Modern Economy
Tibor Rutar
Cover image: © Getty Images
First published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 Tibor Rutar
The right of Tibor Rutar to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other
means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and
recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Rutar, Tibor, 1989– author.
Title: Capitalism for realists: virtues and vices of the modern economy /
Tibor Rutar.
Description: Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY:
Routledge, 2023. | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2022025887 | ISBN 9781032305912 (hardback) |
ISBN 9781032305929 (paperback) | ISBN 9781003305811 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Economic history. | Capitalism. |
Economics—Sociological aspects.
Classification: LCC HC59.3 .R88 2023 |
DDC 330.9—dc23/eng/20220622
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022025887
ISBN: 978-1-032-30591-2 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-30592-9 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-30581-1 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003305811
Typeset in Bembo
by codeMantra
CONTENTS
List of figures ix
1 Capitalism’s critics and defenders: A possibility
of reconciliation 1
2 Historic origins: More political-economic
in nature than cultural 22
3 A nuanced look at poverty, exploitation, and inequality 51
4 Capitalism globalized: The spectre of neoliberalism and the
ambitions of industrial policy 87
5 But capitalism corrupts our morals, does it not? 129
6 Conclusion: What about the environment? 161
Index 175
FIGURES
2.1 GDP per capita of selected European countries between 1400
and 1800 (adjusted for inflation and differences in purchasing
power across countries) 29
2.2 Agricultural labour productivity (output per worker) in
selected European countries between 1500 and 1800 30
3.1 Share of world population living in poverty according to
more demanding poverty measures (adjusted for differences in
purchasing power across countries and inflation) 57
3.2 Share of world population living in extreme poverty (defined
as ‘cost of basic needs’) at different levels of world’s economic
development (expressed in GDP per capita, adjusted for
inflation and differences in purchasing power across countries) 59
4.1 Share of population living in extreme poverty (int-$1.9 per
day or less, adjusted for inflation) in countries classified by 4
quartiles of economic freedom 93
4.2 Average aggregate democracy score for countries classified by
4 quartiles of economic freedom 94
4.3 Scatter plot showing the correlation between economic
freedom and extreme poverty 94
4.4 Scatter plot showing the correlation between economic
freedom and level of democracy 95
4.5 Share of population living in extreme poverty (int-$1.9 per
day, adjusted for inflation) in countries classified by 4
quartiles of economic freedom. Index of economic freedom
recalculated to exclude the ‘sound money’ category and all
subcategories of the ‘legal system’ category except for security
of property rights 99
