Economic change happens in a cultural context. We trace the tectonic shifts in the Western mind that made capitalism thinkable — in part through a look at two Enlightenment thinkers: Baruch Spinoza and Adam Smith. (The real Smith, not the one often held up as the patron saint of unfettered capitalism.)
By John Biewen, with co-host Ellen McGirt. Interviews with Kate Rigby, Glory Liu, Steven Nadler, and Wendy Carlin.
Story editor: Loretta Williams. Music by Michelle Osis, Lilli Haydn, Alex Symcox, and Goodnight, Lucas. Music consulting by Joe Augustine of Narrative Music. Art by Gergo Varga and Harper Biewen.
On a related theme, a 2022 essay by John Biewen in Orion Magazine, The Age of Dominion.
“Capitalism” is a production of the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University, in partnership with Imperative 21.